Fires In The North
by EwanJamieMcLaughlin
Summary: Scott is Po'd-his role as "man of the house" has been dominated-by a girl! And, why is it that everyone knows Virgil's secret except his gf Tessa? And what's with these fires? Which burn higher-th
1. L'Agent Canadien

_Author's note:_

In this piece, I have had no intention of insulting farmers, Canadians, or the French. The 'parlez-vous le dingdong' is a family joke. As well, there are 3 chapters to this story, as it was much too long to be posted as one. Ewan

Chapter One - L'agent Canadienne

Scott Tracy wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. "That's the fourth fire we've put out this month."

His colleague, Tessa Highlander, shook the collar of her shirt. "Yes, and I'm feeling it." She turned in her seat to face him. "Hey, who's brilliant idea was it to make fires incredibly hot, anyway?" She turned back. "They should be dragged into the street and shot . . ."she muttered.

Scott payed no attention. "Four power plants in a single month . . ."

Tessa shook her head, realizing that her friend was totally hooked on something. She pressed a few buttons, and a screen brightened, brandishing the face of Jeff Tracy. "Thunderbird one to base - we've managed to contain the fire. The local department says they can take it from here."

Jeff smiled. "Good work, Tess - and Scott. Now, head back to base."

Tess smiled brightly right back at him. "F. A. B.," she saluted, turning the screen off.

She turned to who she now considered her brother. "Scott, earth to Scott - _we're leaving_."

Scott still seemed in a trance as she waved a hand in front of his face.

"Fine, I'm driving us home," she smirked.

That got him moving p. d. q.

He grabbed the control stick, and began to fly back to Tracy Island. He kept his eye on the sky the whole time he talked to Tessa. His voice was still trance-like. "I don't think those were accidents . . ."

She shook her head. "I don't either. Four in a month is incredible enough-"

"-four of the same sort is odd . . . but four in the same month, of the same sort, in the same continent is awful strange. . ."

She nodded. "We need to tell your dad of our suspicions when we get home." She'd only started calling it "home" a few months ago.

He nodded in agreement, and then was silently occupied the rest of the way back.

Virgil heard the door open and close. His head turned as quickly as a hound dog's when his master returns home.

He smiled as he saw his girlfriend's figure fill the doorway. He got up from the piano, and kissed her.

Tessa smiled. It may have taken her a few months to realize it, but she knew she loved Virgil Tracy very much.

"How was it?" he asked her, smiling the entire time.

She smiled half-heartedly, waving a french-manicured hand in an unimportant gesture. "I promised Scott I'd let him explain when he got in."

Right on cue, Scott's section of the wall turned to reveal him.

She looked right into Virgil's sparkling eyes, smiling. She kissed his cheek, then went to meet Scott at Jeff Tracy's desk.

"Dad," Scott started, placing his hands on his father's desk, "Tessa and I would like to talk to you about these fires."

Jeff replaced the pen he was using to complete some paperwork. He glanced up at the first son his late wife had given him. "What about them?"

Tess came out from where she was standing behind Scott. She glanced over at him. "We think they're connected."

Jeff leaned back in his seat.

Scott straightened up. "There have been four fires in a single month - which would be fishy enough, but it gets worse. They're all in power plants - mostly nuclear. And, as a topper, _all_ have happened in North America."

There was a pause. "Well . . .?" Tessa prompted.

Jeff sighed. "Unfortunately, I think you're right. I also think it's a case of sabotage, making it worse. As high as it's likely they are somehow connected, it's as equally unlikely that 4 separate power stations would malfunction enough to cause a disaster like that."

"So what do we do? We're not legally a part of North America, so we can't do much over here," Scott pointed out.

Jeff picked up the phone, which rested at the corner of his desk. "We're going to have to call in an IR special agent. I know which one we'll need for a job like this."

Tess was fascinated. "Really - who is he?"

Jeff smiled as the international phone rang. "_She_ is a prematurely retired agent, who now gets a 6-figure retirement pension - which includes what we give her. She retired to help support her family in what they love best. They're actually quite talented, so in a way, it was a smart move."

"Great," Scott muttered, "a retired old bitty." His father half-smiled, pretending to have not heard the comment.

"What organization did she work for?" inquired Tess, who was forever wanting to learn more.

Jeff smiled as the phone picked up. "CSIS."

"Bessy! You get your heifer butt back in that barn right now, or so help me, you won't be a dairy cow much longer!" Lana came running at the cow with a 6-foot-stick she found on the ground.

Unfortunately, she tripped.

She watched the cow run back to the pasture. Her eyes narrowed. "You got lucky."

Her cousin Sandy came over to help her up. "That's the 3rd time she's run outta that barn this week, eh."

Lana nodded. "Yeah, I know. Why do cows have to be so stubborn?"

"Better than pigs."

Lana shrugged. She could barely stand either, to be frank.

Suddenly there was the sound of a song in the air. Lana stood there for a moment, trying to place where the sound was coming from.

Sandy smiled as she sang along to the music. "'She thinks my tractor's sexy, it really turns her on . . .'"

"Right! Cell phone!" exclaimed Lana, reaching into her pocket, as they walked towards the cows. "Hello?"

Sandy smiled as her cousin chewed off the person's ear. "No, actually, our refrigerator _stopped_ working, and so now we're hooked up to the generator. But, thank you for asking." She hung up, laughing.

Sandy shook her head. "Why do you even keep that thing? All you ever get on it is practical jokes."

Lana shrugged. "Emergences. Besides, I'm used to it from my past."

Surprisingly, Kenny Chesney rang out again. Lana stared at her pocket, awestruck, before rolling her eyes and picking it up. She flipped it open. "Snake pit, we never close."

Sandy laughed, shaking her head as she smacked a cow to get out of their way. She could hear a call of "What!" from the other end of the phone.

Lana rolled her eyes. "I said, 'Snake. Pit. _We never close_'. As in, like, Snake Pit? Like the pit where you toss in snakes . . . who is this, anyway?"

Sandy stared at the phone as her cousin's expression turned beet red. "Oh, I'm so sorry Jeff! Nobody important ever calls me on this . . . well, no one except you, of course . . . I haven't heard from you in awhile! How's it goin', eh? How're the boys?"

Jeff laughed at her embarrassment. "Oh, we're good, what are you up to?"

Lana looked around her. "Oh, you know, just enjoying all the lovely scenery that Saskatchewan has to offer."

"Still flat I take it?"

Her tone was flat, as if to add 'duh'. "I'm at the bottom of a prehistoric lake - of _course_ it's still flat. Anyways, I know you _never_ call me, even if I am an agent, so what's up, eh?"

Jeff got serious. "Have you heard about these fires that have been happening in power plants? Specifically, _Canadian_ and _American_ power plants?"

Lana thought. "Yes . . ."

"We think they're connected."

She blinked. "Really? You mean, like, sabotage?"

"You were always quick on your feet."

"Skates, Jeff - up here, we're quick on our skates."

He smiled. "Right. The thing is, we really could use your expertise up here. We have a lot better research facilities here than where you are, if you can spare the time."

She was sceptical. "On the farm? Spare time? Jeff, you're starting to remind me of why you never call . . . I have a business running over here."

"On what?"

She sighed. "A generator."

"Exactly. You were a top CSIS agent, don't let that go to waste. Help us."

She looked at her cousin. "Jeff, I'll have to find myself a replacement . . ." Her eyes pleaded.

"Fine. But please let me know by tomorrow morning at latest . . ."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. G'bye."

She looked at her cousin. "Please-"

"Lana, we can't afford-"

She begged, "Oh, please! I haven't been on a real mission in _years_. I miss it. Take the cash out of my savings, just, _pleeeease_?"

She rolled her eyes. "I suppose Uncle Ed could take over for a month or so . . ."

Lana hugged her so hard, her eyes bulged out.

Jeff replaced the phone.

Scott just stared. "Well? Is she coming?"

Jeff smiled. "That was her reply. She is definitely coming. She'll be at London airport at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon, and Kyrano will pick her up there."

Tess was perplexed. "What is CSIS?"

"She'll let you know when she comes."

Tessa just shrugged, and went over to where Virgil was out on the balcony.

Scott watched his long-time-ex-girlfriend-turned-friend walk away. He'd been a lonely man for more than eight months now.

He turned back to his father. "I don't see _why_ we need to bring someone else to this house. We can handle it alone. If we bring another person in this house, it will just be trouble." Scott wanted his family to be the way it used to be - no more changes. NO MORE FEMALES.

Jeff Tracy tried to reason with him. "Scott, we are not a part of North America. Or any continent for that matter. This is obviously an insider ordeal, and we need an insider to help."

"But why must she come here?"

He got up. He motioned for Scott to take a walk with him. "You see, Scott, she's an entrepreneur - in a nutshell, she runs her own family business, you might say."

"So?"

"Not all of her family knows what she did for a living. Only her cousin. She can't work in much secrecy anymore. She loved what she did, but she knew where her place in the world was, so she retired from CSIS."

"Well, what kind of business _does_ she run? And why can't she tell her _family_?"

Jeff stopped. "Those aren't my stories to tell, Scott." He turned away.

Lana stepped off the private jet, and gazed at the paradise around her. She had never been to Tracy Island before - but it was beautiful.

Kyrano tried to take all of her 3 bags, but she was persistent on carrying at least one or two. When a large bag was finally surrendered, Jeff met her on the runway.

"Hello, Alana." He smiled at her, giving her a welcoming hug.

She smiled back. "Bonjour, Jeff . . . it's a pleasure to be here."

He put an arm around her shoulder, and grabbed her bag. "The kids are rather anxious to meet you."

She reluctantly surrendered her baggage. Her smile faded slightly. "Um, Jeff, the boys do realize that I'm not exactly like Penny? That I'm not a Lady or anyone . . . proper? Or anyone with _any_ sort of manners?"

He kept smiling. "I'm sure you and the children will get along famously."

_Famously_ being a well-chosen word.

She half-smiled. She had never actually met _any_ of his children. Ever. She had met Lucy, but that was a long time ago, at her graduation into CSIS.

The door opened the very next moment. She shrugged Jeff's hand off her shoulder, nervously. She straightened her skirt. She gave it a disgusted look. She hated skirts. She hated pink. She hated daisies. But she especially hated skirts that had little pink daisies _on_ them.

She looked up to see many faces. She smiled nervously. They all smiled and a few waved hello.

"Holy cow, there sure are a lot of them . . ." she uttered to herself, not even loud enough for Jeff to hear.

_Better make a good impression,_ she thought. She put on her best "I just brushed my teeth with Crest!" smile. She tried to take out the Canadian accent in her voice. "Hello, everyone." It sounded squeaky and unnatural, so she gave it up, and decided maybe they wouldn't mind that she sounded like Bob and Doug. "I guess you already know who I am."

Scott didn't smile. "Actually, dad forgot to inform us of who was coming."

Her smiled faded slightly at his rudeness. "Okay . . . well, my name is Alana Fitzgerald, but I do not - under _any_ circumstances - want to be called that."

Scott looked up and shook her head.

Tess smacked him without even looking at him. He cried in pain, but she continued to smile sweetly. "What would you prefer we call you?"

Lana laughed at the friendliness that was given to her automatically by Tess. "I get called Lana a lot, but that's mostly by my cousin. My nickname in highschool - and through most of my career in CSIS - was Fitzy. I really don't care which you go for."

Scott laughed at Fitzy. Tess shifted in her seat next to Virgil, and stomped on his foot with her stilettos, still smiling, still not looking at him.

Jeff pretended not to notice, since he knew his son deserved it. "Lana, these _fine_ young people are Scott, Alan, Virgil, Tessa, Gordon, Brains, my mother and you've met Kyrano and his daughter, Tin-tin."

She knit her brow at Tessa. "Jeff, you never told me you had a daughter."

Tessa blushed furiously. "Actually, I'm not his daughter. I washed up on shore a year or so ago. I just kind of . . . stayed. And I'm quite fond of Virgil." She smiled at her boyfriend.

"Oh, that makes sense. Um, I'll try to remember names but if I call you Gordon, and you Virgil, please don't take it offensively," she said, pointing to Gordon and Virgil.

"I _am_ Virgil."

Lana blushed.

Scott just shook his head. "You know what? I don't have time for this." He stormed off to his room.

Jeff looked at Lana apologetically. "I'm sorry, I really am. I don't know what's gotten into him . . ."

Lana waved it off. "Oh, that's okay. I've been around enough to be used to that reaction from men." She laughed. "I should probably warn you guys, though . . . I've met other agents. I'm not like your British agent. I don't have a 'Lady' title because . . . the Queen forgot. I'm a small-town girl, with very few manners."

Tess laughed. "I'm sure you can't be _that_ bad . . ."

Fitzy laughed nervously. "Well, I better go change for dinner. Jeff, if you don't mind," she said, picking up her suitcase, "could you please show me my room?"

Scott was inside his room, cursing everything he saw.

Okay, so she wasn't an old bitty . . . but there was still time.

He absolutely hated her. Every inch of her. From her manicured nails to her oh-so-perfectly brushed dark-red hair. Her skirt . . . she acted like it was a part her. Even Lady Penelope wasn't that enthusiastic about wearing a skirt.

And the way she looked at him . . . like he was a total slob . . . a mistake in a perfect world. Her dark - almost black eyes - pierced his very soul.

He hated everything he saw in her . . . and he saw a lot . . .

_And she's probably in her room changing into evening wear for dinner . . ._ he thought.

Lana pulled her best blue plaid flannel shirt over her sky-coloured t-shirt.

"With these jeans, I look awesome!" she smiled at herself in the mirror, wanting to give someone a high-five. She checked to make sure her sneakers matched her outfit. They were white - _were_ being the operative word - and blended in nicely.

She grabbed her brush and began to run it through her shoulder-length brunette hair. She wondered, as she stroked it, why Scott was so cruel. Could it have been something she'd said? Something she'd done? She'd talked for all of three minutes before he stormed out.

Lana grabbed her favourite scrunchie and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. She smiled at her reflection. She picked up a pair of beaded, dangling earrings, and placed them inside the piercings that she'd had since she was five. In the second set of piercings, there were small pearls . . . she recalled how her mother had nearly died when she came home to find her daughter had gotten pierced in each ear a second time. She grinned as she did up her dainty, leather-strap watch. She lost the grin, though, as she looked at her nails.

_They're disgusting_, she thought, _oh, well . . . it' not as though anyone's going to notice that they're dirty, chipped, and that the nail polish is peeling._

She leaned forward to make sure that her dark eyes weren't too dark.

_Close enough,_ she groaned.

She smiled at her reflection, as she turned to go. She stopped herself. She went back to the bureau, and picked up a green collar with a small tractor charm dangling from it. Her father had given it to her, and she pretty-well only took it off to sleep.

_Perfect._

She came out of her room, and walked with her hands inside her pockets. When she reached the table, everyone seemed slightly surprised.

She waved a hand. "How's she going, my trout?"

Virgil looked at her as he looked at bird crap on his windshield. He pulled out a chair for Tessa, then himself.

She laughed at herself. "It's a Canadian thing. Roughly translated it means, 'How's it goin', eh?'"

She sat down. Tessa smiled at her. "I love those earrings."

Lana smiled. "Merci."

Tessa's eyes widened. "'Mercy?' I'm so sorry if I offended you! I was just . . . you know, trying to be polite! I'm sorry! I'm useless with Canadian culture!"

Everyone - even Scott - laughed at her. Virgil leaned over, and quietly explained it all to her. Tess's face went three shades of red. She was very quiet for awhile.

Lana smiled. "I'm bilingual. Not that all Canadians are . . . but, it does come in handy when you talk to the _Quebec quois_."

Virgil was intrigued. "Really?"

Lana nodded. "Oui. Je parle le dingdong."

Only Jeff laughed at that one.

Scott whirled on him. "What?"

Jeff just shook his head, like he had just laughed for no reason.

Fitzy was enjoying her little game. She knew Jeff didn't know much french, but he knew enough. She acted innocent. "Jeff? Est-ce que parlez-vous le dingdong!"

Jeff smiled. "Not really."

Alan was curious. "What exactly are you asking? Are you some kind of pirate-obsessed person? Did you just enforce the code of 'parlez' on a 'dingdong'?"

Lana doubled over with laughter. She just shook her head. A small 'no' slipped out.

She straightened up, but a giggle still escaped.

Scott interrupted. "So, what's with the sudden change in wardrobe?"

"I hate skirts. This is what I normally wear."

Scott snorted. "You look like some common . . . _farmer_."

Lana stopped laughing. She sat down her fork. She backed away from the table, pushing in her chair. She gave Scott a tight look, and an evil eye. She faced Jeff. "I think you should further explain to your boys what I can and cannot tolerate. As for you, Scott," she said, turning in his direction, "I _am_ a common farmer."

She stormed out of the room, much as Scot had.

Scott sat on his bed as his father gave him a sound thrashing with his tongue.

"What has gotten into you! You insulted her without even thinking!"

"How was I supposed to know what she does for a living! You didn't tell us anything!"

"You insulted _farmers in general_ with that comment!"

"You do realize by saying that I insulted farmers, implying that I said she was ugly, _you_ just insulted farmers!"

Jeff was livid. "Scott! Don't you take that tone with me!"

"Fine! But _why_ is she so sensitive about being a farmer? It _can't_ have just been the way I said she looked like a farmer."

Jeff calmed down his tone. "Scott, you don't know _anything_ about this woman and what she's been through. Maybe next time you should think about that _before_ you insult farmers with your stereotypes."

He walked towards the door, and opened it. "And by the way: you may be an adult now, but I can still punish you. _Tessa_ will drive Thunderbird One for the next two weeks." He closed the door.

Scott threw a lamp at it.

"Three weeks!" his father called back.

Lana came out of her room an hour or so later. She had decided she didn't want to explain anything to them. Jeff knew, and that was enough.

For now.

She walked into the foyer . . . okay, foyer-ish room. When she saw everyone was busy with something, she pulled out a novel from her pocket, and sat on the couch, cross-legged. Everyone else had their legs in front of them, no matter what they were doing.

Brains was engaging Gordon in a heated game of chess. She could tell, looking up from her book, that it was so intense, both of them were only barely breathing.

She could see Jeff - surprise, surprise - was doing paperwork at his desk. She wondered what kind of paperwork he was doing . . .

Kyrano and Gramma were in the kitchen, from what she could see.

Scott was no where to be found, but she could hear soft cursing coming from the hall. She could see Alan and Tin-tin talking to each other on the sofa, every so often looking out, annoyed, at the balcony. Lana discreetly followed their gaze and saw Tessa and Virgil on the balcony. She quickly moved her gaze back, though. She didn't need to see that.

Lana skimmed the page in front of her. She got bored with the romance novel quite easily though, and slipped on her headphones for her discman. She was soon listening to a country CD she herself had burned. She was happy as a clown.

She flipped the page, feeling a lot more interested in her cowboy, as she heard Tessa and Virgil come in. She snuck a look, and could see that Virgil had his arm around her waist, and Tessa was blushing. She shuddered to herself, as Alan and Tin-tin headed out to the balcony.

Virgil let go of Tess's waist, and he moved towards the piano. He sat down on the bench, and began to play. Tess sat down in a chair adjacent to him.

Lana actually stopped her CD player, and took off her headphones. Virgil was a really good pianist.

He played a soft melody, then a more jazzed up one. She put the book down, shortly after Tess moved to sit on the bench next to him.

Lana smiled. She got up, though, and moved towards Jeff. "Jeff, is there anything that I can do to help with your mission? I know I wasn't supposed to start until tomorrow, but I can't wait."

Jeff looked up. "Sure . . . would you happen to know anything about how your country has electricity?"

She grinned. "That all depends where you are . . . in Ontario, nuclear . . . there's coal, as well, though . . . Alberta is very big on oil . . ."

"Sit down," Jeff grinned.

The very next day, Virgil went outside to find Scott in the pool, swimming laps. "Scott," he said, surprised.

Scott stopped, and looked up at him. "Virgil."

"Nothing . . . I just see you've stopped cursing."

"Yeah? You'd be cursing too if you were told you weren't allowed to drive your Thunderbird for three whole weeks." He laughed to himself. "I'm twenty-eight, and I've _literally_ been grounded."

"Ha-ha. Sucks to be you." Virgil jumped in the pool, a tidal wave of water cascading over his brother.

As soon as Virgil was standing upright in the shallow end of the pool again, Scott kicked his legs out from under him, causing more water to splash the sides of the pool.

"Ah, brotherly love . . . nothing like it, is there, Tess?" came a feminine voice.

Tessa smiled, her beautiful figure framed in her violet bikini. "Nope, nothing like it, Tin-tin."

The two girls took seats on beach chairs, and began talking. Tess shot Virgil an affectionate gaze, and he gladly returned it. Scott made a puking motion with his hand.

Virgil, eyes still locked on Tess, shoved him backwards.

As Scott regained his composure, he saw that his brother had gotten out of the pool, and was escorting Tessa to a more secluded part of the beach, never taking his eyes off of her, never stopping his smile, never speaking.

"Isn't that disgusting?" Scott asked.

Tin-tin frowned. "They're in love, Scott. They've been in love for a year now. Where have you been?" She got up to leave.

Scott just stood where he was in the pool. A year? It didn't feel like a year since Tess had washed-up on his family's island. It didn't feel like 9 months since he'd broken things off with her. It seemed like only days had passed since she had finally decided on Virgil.

"Where have I been?" he asked himself.

"I don't know, Scott,"Tin-tin replied, "but I'd start realizing your situation soon if I was you. Otherwise, you're in for a wild ride . . ."

"Lana?"

Lana looked up from her novel, now almost finished. "Yes, Jeff?"

Jeff did not look at her, but preceded with typing in his computer. "I need you."

She was at his side by the time his sentence had finished. "What do you need, how do you need it, and when does it have to be done?"

He smiled at her eagerness, standing up, facing her. He gestured to the computer. "I need your expert research. I have no leads as to how to go about this; please, sit down."

She took his chair, staring at the screen, he leaned over next to her. "I figure that if we can at least get the names of all the major Canadian power plants, we can perhaps put the clues together, and find out who's behind this."

Lana started typing rapidly. "How long do I have?"

"Just have it on my desk ASAP."

"Okay . . . it will probably take only a few days, but this isn't exactly something you can place a time frame on . . ."

Jeff moved to leave. "Just let me know if you need anything."

She was still typing. "Well, I could use the co-ordinates of those fires, so I can figure out the names of which companies have been hit."

"I'll have Tess call up John for you - John is my second-eldest son, who monitors the satellite station. He's also Tess's best friend."

She smiled at him, pausing in her search. "It's always nice to have a friend."

He just smiled as a response before turning to find Tessa.

"Confound it, Williams! Can't you do _anything_ right!"

Peter Williams scrambled to pick up the reports that had been thrown back at him. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

He rose from his seat, looking out the back window behind him. "I've poured these months of my life into this project, and what do I get in return? Remind me, Williams, why am I so angry with you? I want it to sink in. " He turned back to him, his face as red with anger as his Armani tie.

Peter shuddered with fear. "I-international Rescue i-is onto our plan?"

He bent over and picked up the last paper, hiding under a corner of his desk. He stood up, crushing it in his palm, and dropping it to the floor again. "Exactly."

Tess was hurt. She was lonely. Why was he doing this to her?

Virgil had been acting strange. For the past nine months or so, Virgil would barely let her out of his sight; when she visited her father once a month, either he or Tin-tin would come with him, never leaving her alone with him. And, though she couldn't prove it, she was sure there had been times at night when he had slept just on the other side of her door.

But now, could it be true? He almost seemed like he was avoiding her.

Tess sat next to the piano, watching Fitzy type.

_Fitzy,_ she thought, _what a name . . ._

She got up and watched out the window, seeing the boys all around the pool. Virgil glanced back up at the window, meeting her eyes and smiling. He waved, but seemed nervous. Something was on his mind, but what?

Tessa waved back, then pulled her light sweater tighter around her body. This past week he was with her a lot, but always had something on his mind. Something nagging at him. Was it her?

"I see you got somethin' on your mind, eh."

Tess turned and faced Lana. She blushed. "It's nothing, _really_. . ."

Lana stopped her typing, and laced her fingers on top of her desk. She cocked her head. "Really? Yeah, sure, I'll believe that the day my cow Bessy behaves . . ."

Tess smiled. "I don't expect you to understand since you've only been here for a few days, Lana . . ."

"Please, if you feel more comfortable with it, call me Fitzy."

She smiled. "Well, see, me and Virg have been together for about nine months now, and well, all of the sudden . . . he just seems . . . different."

Lana smiled, biting her lip. "S'down, Tess."

Tess sat in a chair near the desk.

"Now, what exactly has he been doing different?"

Tess seemed distracted, not meeting her eyes. "He just seems like he . . . well, he just . . . see, since we started dating we've practically _never_ been apart. Now, he just seems like he's trying to be around his father more, and seems like he's got a lot on his mind when we are together." She looked Lana directly in her eyes. "What do you think's going on? Do you think . . . do you think he's having an affair?"

Lana burst out laughing. She stopped, though. "I'm sorry, but . . . well, honey, do you _see_ any other women on this island he'd be interested in?"

Tessa smiled. "I guess you're right."

Lana grinned. "Tess - I know what's going on. I see it in your eyes. I've been in a few relationships in my time - believe it or not. I've seen my share of good and bad. He has a secret. One that he's trying to decide whether or not he should tell you right now. One that you shouldn't pry out of him." She turned back to her computer, and zoned back out again, as though they'd never even spoken.

Tess just stared at her. "That's it? That's _all_ your telling me!"

Lana didn't look at her, but chuckled as Tess walked away, looking ticked-off.

"Um, Dad? Can I, uh, speak to you for a moment?" Virgil's voice was unnaturally high-pitched and nervous.

Jeff looked up from his armchair, where he'd relocated to since Lana had hijacked his desk. "Whatever about, Virgil?" He folded the newspaper he'd been reading. He knew very well what this was about, but enjoyed toying with his son.

Virgil scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit. "Well, it, ahem, is, um, regarding my . . . finances."

Jeff placed the folded paper in his lap. "Okay, go ahead."

Virgil tried to make his voice sound rather deep and important, but it just made him sound goofy. "Well, it _is_ a private matter, and I believe it should be discussed as such."

Jeff gestured with his hands. "Please, Virgil. We're amongst friends and family. And something as simple as your finances surely can be openly discussed in this group."

Virgil glanced for not even half a second at Tess, but she still noticed. His voice resumed the high-pitched nervousness. "Nope, nope, better discuss it in private."

Jeff got up, and tossed the paper back on the seat cushion. "Okay, let's go for a walk; that will give us the most privacy."

As soon as the door closed behind them, Tessa burst at Lana. "You see? He only did that to get away from me. He's probably breaking up with me."

Lana shook her head. She stopped typing, deciding that now was the time for a break. "Please, Tessa. I'm _sure_ he's not breaking up with you. I see the way you look at each other. He doesn't want to do anything of the sort. He's nervous about this, though."

"Still," began Scott, the only other person in the room, "it is suspicious that he wants to talk about something so simple in private."

Lana cocked her head. "You _seriously_ think he's actually discussing finances?"

"No, of course not. It just seems like he's talking about something simple."

Lana rolled her eyes. "You think he's talking about how his allowance isn't sufficient for his lifestyle?"

Scott got defensive. "No! And, remind me again _how_ long you've spent in the company of me and my brothers?"

Lana stood up, her hands still on the desk. "Scott! I can see right through your brother's charade - can't you!"

"Oh, how would you know?"

She smiled, sitting down again, restarting her research. "I recall, Scott, that when I was in grade eight, one teacher told another to 'never underestimate what your students can uncover'. I am a student to your father and his organization, even if I've been in it for years."

She zoned out again, virtually unreachable.

Scott shook his head. "Unbelievable. You think you know everything about my family, just because you've spent a week or so with them. You know nothing about any of us." He left, a door slamming behind him.

Lana looked up, shaking her head in the direction he had left.

Tess looked at the floor. "There is a lot of stuff in their family you can't learn in a few days. Even in my family . . . everything is complicated."

Lana looked at her. "I know . . . there's just something about Scott . . . it's like everything he says makes me want to argue with him. I've never felt such a . . . _loathing_ toward anyone before."

"It's him, not you. I think actually it's me. He and I don't get along, and he makes a point of hating me and every new person who comes along."

She shook her head. "Don't be foolish. I'm sure you did nothing."

Tess considered her wording for a moment, trying to decide what to say, and what to leave out. "I think Scott is just worried that another new person - a female in particular - will turn out like me."

Lana shook her head. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I can't put the piece of every puzzle together on Tracy Island."

Tessa sighed. "I washed up on Tracy Island little more than a year ago. As you can see, Virgil was deeply in love with me. I, however, had fallen for Scott."

Lana's face cringed. "Ooh."

"Yeah. Well, eventually Scott broke it off when he found out some disturbing stuff about _my_ family. I was very hurt, and after awhile, I finally decided it was Virgil I loved more. At first, I didn't want to get involved with him, but I changed my mind and now I'm very happy."

"That's sweet."

"Yeah, but Scott had it in his mind I was going to be his again . . . I love Virgil. I've never met anyone like him before. I don't want anyone else."

She leaned back in her seat. "It all makes sense now . . . Scott does seem like the 'alpha-male' type."

Tess got up. "Yeah, well, I have to pack. I'll see you later."

"Pack for what?"

Tessa stopped in her door. "I'm going to see my father; I visit him one weekend a month." She shook her head, looking down. Then she looked back up, a smile on her face as she leaned against the doorframe. "It's the funniest thing; if it wasn't for him, I would still be with Scott . . . but in the same sense, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be with Virgil." She shook her head again, turning to go to her room.

Lana wondered if she would ever fully understand what went on in this household.

"Virgil, why?"

He smiled at Tessa. "Because I love you, and I want to go with you and see your father."

Tess folded a pair of pyjama bottoms, then placing them inside her bag. "Virgil, you haven't gone with me to see Dad in four months."

"I know and I miss him dearly," Virgil replied, smiling earnestly at her.

She cocked her head. "Oh, really? Then how come when I ask you to go every time you always say no?"

Virgil seemed like he'd had this all planned out. "Those were just mistakes I've made in the past. I really want to get to know your father."

"There's something you want, isn't there?"

It was Virgil's turn to look suspicious. "Now why would you think that?"

Tess gave him a look that said, "Oh, really?" as she placed a folded shirt in the bag. "Virg, you and my father don't exactly get along very well. In fact, you don't get along at all, hence the reason why you stopped coming with me."

Virgil waved his hand. "Please - your father and I are very close."

Tess laughed. "Really?"

"Yes, of course."

She made a twirling motion with her finger. "Turn around."

Virgil didn't have to be told twice. He knew the drill; he turned around.

She took a few undergarments from her dresser and placed them in her bag. "Now, what were you saying?"

He stared at the wall. "That your father and I are really close."

She laughed again, pulling more delicates from her bureau. Her voice was very questioning and perky, in a Bree Van der kamp way. "Oh, really? Then I suppose the fact that last time you two spoke alone together, his throwing a lamp at you and security having to be called in was just a gesture of good intentions?"

Virgil turned in disgust. "That was a floop! Besides, he was just in a bad mood."

Tess's eyes widened. "Virgil, he wasn't the one they had to call security on, as I remember. Now, _turn around_."

He paused for a moment, not turning, trying to find words. He cleared his throat. "The point is, I want to make amends with the man. I want to find a . . . a _middle ground _between our differences."

Tessa sighed, zipping up her duffle bag. "Fine, you win. But you better pack quick. Kyrano's flying us in-"she lifted her wrist to her face, "-15 minutes. Hurry up!"

Virgil turned and left the room. Tess soon followed, carrying her duffle bag. She dropped it when she reached her door frame. There was Virgil, with his own full, green duffle bag slug over one shoulder, his other hand in his pocket. His smile was very broad and triumphant.

Tess elbowed him, laughing, as she hauled her bag to where Kyrano waited at the door.

"I don't understand, Jeff. Why doesn't she live with her father? Or, why doesn't he live here? Why isn't she with her relatives?" Lana was extremely curious.

Jeff smiled at the plane now off distantly in the sky. "She _is_ among relatives."

"Figuratively speaking, yes, but-"

Jeff turned away from the window. "No, she actually is with relatives here. Kyrano is her uncle."

Lana creased her forehead. "Really?"

"Yes. Though we didn't know it until she'd been here for a few months."

Lana was very confused. "I don't understand, Jeff; if Kyrano is her uncle, wouldn't she have recognized him?"

Jeff stopped. "Her story is about as complicated as yours, Lana. Are you _sure_ you really want to know?"

Lana nodded.

Jeff sighed. "Sit down." She sat in an armchair near his desk, while he sat in his desk.

He laced his fingers together. He began from the beginning, telling of how she'd washed up, knowing almost nothing of who she was, even though she was not an amnesiac. She'd fallen for Scott _and _Virgil, causing much pain and tension for months, especially after she'd chosen Scott.

"Virgil was still smitten with her, though, even when his brother was dating her - without permission, I might add. However, Scott was not impressed when we discovered her father was the Hood."

Lana brought her hand to her mouth.

"Basically, the rest is dry. She met her father again just a few days before she decided Virgil was the one. It's amazing the bond they share." Jeff had gotten up, and was staring out the window. "Her father and mother had great problems in their marriage. Her father tried to kill Tessa - well, to be honest, to this day she won't actually tell us what went on. But, after all of that, she still loves him. That part always makes me feel . . . unworthy."

He turned back to face Lana. "I am amazed by Tessa. Plenty of times, she's acted like a small girl. She has played with the hearts of two of my sons. She will confess things to another that will make things even more tense and jelous. And more recently, she'll curl into a ball every time something suspicious happens. But, there must be something good in that girl, because she can forgive a man who has tried so often to kill people so close to her."

Jeff shook his head in awe, then turned to leave, signalling that the conversation had ended.

Lana just sat there for a moment, letting Tess's story sink in. Then, she moved back towards Jeff's desk, to finish up the research that she had started.


	2. Realizing Reality

"I don't see him. Tessa I don't see him. Tessa, where is he? Tessa, I don't see him!"

Tess held Virgil's hand tight. She looked in his eyes. "Virgil, be reasonable. He's not going to be waiting for us. He's a dangerous man, and they only let him out when I check in, and ask to see him." She lead him to a desk.

"Highlander. I'm here to see my father." She smiled up at the lady.

The lady smiled back. "Of course. I'll go get him, Tessa."

Virgil was surprised. "They know you here? Wow, it must be amazing to have the entire high-security ward as your friends."

Tess ignored him, her face lighting up. "Dad!" She ran to her father. He hugged her.

"Excuse me, Miss. Highlander, but you know the rules," the security guard reminded her. Tess blushed, and let go of her father.

"Let's sit down." Tess lead him to the table. She sat across from him, Virgil stood off a few metres. "Dad, you remember Virgil?"she asked, gesturing to her boyfriend.

The Hood smiled falsely, his eyes burning with hatred. "Yes, I remember him. Jeff Tracy's middle son - correct?"

Tess ignored his hatred. She turned to Virgil. "Virgil, honey, could you please wait outside for a little while? I would like to speak to my father alone." Her tone told him to get moving fast. He complied.

She turned back. "How are you?"

"It's maximum security prison. I don't have any visitors except for you. I feel _depressed. _How are you?"

She smiled. "Worried."

"Why?"

"Virgil. I love him, and I think he's going to break up with me."

The Hood was taken aback. "You what?"

"I think he's going to break-"

The Hood shook his head. "No, no, no - before that."

Tessa blushed. "Oh. I love him?"

The Hood cringed and shuddered.

"Dad. Please. I know you don't approve of him, but that's only because of his father. Dad, I really do love him."

The Hood opened one eye. "Please don't say that anymore."

She stood up, her hands on the table. "Dad! I've never been happier than when I've been with him. This is a big deal."

The Hood softened slightly. "Okay. Fine. I can accept that . . . if I have to . . . I guess."

"Finished." Lana slapped down a stack of about thirty sheets on Jeff's desk. "I highlighted the ones that have been hit in green, and the possible suspects in pink. Everything is there. And, don't worry - I included pictures." She smiled jokingly.

Jeff flipped through the small booklet. "Wow - you did all this detail in 3 days?"

"Three and a half." She smiled at him. She flipped her hair back. "I still got it."

Jeff nodded. "You do. You mind running over who these people are with me?"

"After dinner, Jeff. Right now, I want a nap." She made a show of stretching and walking away.

Jeff waved her away, as if she were dismissed. Once she was in the hall he laughed, "Yup, she's still got it."

"WHAT!"

"I said-"

"I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME TO REPEAT IT!"

"Because I don't know how you could possibly not know that the answer_ is_ no!"

Tess listened from the other room, praying that the two men she loved wouldn't kill each other.

_Crash._

_There goes the new lamp_, she thought, taking a sip of her coffee, acting as though this was all routine, and also that she didn't know them.

"Excuse me! If you two gentleman cannot control yourselves, I'm afraid _you'll_ have to leave, and _your_ visiting privileges will be suspended!" the security guard yelled.

"Thank you," breathed Tessa. Tess hadn't heard _what_ exactly they were talking about, but she knew it must be something to do with her . . . the only thing they had in common.

"Okay, _maybe_ if _someone_ will calm down, we can discuss this like civilized people," Virgil spat, hatred in his eyes.

"_Who's _not being calm!" The Hood countered.

_This is why I hate it when Virgil comes,_ thought Tessa.

"That is not the matter at hand. Now . . ." Virgil lowered his voice, presumably so that Tessa would not hear him.

"Look, Mr. Tracy-"

"No! You look here! She's a grown woman!"

Tessa shook her head. It was a record, she had to admit. They had go a whole 7 seconds on her watch without yelling.

"She's my daughter! I brought her into this world! I have a right to protect her!"

"She's my girlfriend!"

"_Exactly_!"

"I'm not going to hurt her!"

The security lady spoke up again. "Will you two _please_ act civilized!"

Tessa wondered why the security lady wasn't getting more involved.

Something else smashed.

_Oh,_ thought Tess, again sipping her coffee.

"Fine, but can we please think of Tess for a moment?" Virgil reasoned.

"No," replied the Hood.

"_Who_ does this involve!"

"_May I remind you two_, we have insomniacs trying to sleep!" yelled the security guard. Only Tess seemed to get that one, as she snorted her coffee.

She could hear Virgil whispering something to her father. From her father's silence she could tell he was uncomfortable with this decision.

"Fine, _but . . ._" her father's voice was barely a whisper, rare in the presence of Virgil. "I know . . . don't . . . her."

"So, is that a 'yes'?" Virgil asked cautiously.

Her father _said_ nothing. Virgil's voice was bright now. "Okay, great . . ."

Tess stared at her watch. Holy. Crap. They went two whole minutes without yelling.

"Tess!" called her father and Virgil at the same time.

Virgil looked at her, a victorious and loving expression on his face. He kissed her on the cheek, before leaving the room.

The Hood looked genuinely depressed. "Tess, darling . . . sit. There are some important, unhappy matters we must discuss . . ."

Lana placed a piece of steak in her mouth, savouring the rich flavour of the Alberta beef Jeff had flown in special to celebrate. She swallowed, and took a large gulp of root beer.

"I wonder how Tessa and Virgil are . . ." pondered Gordon aloud.

Lana let out a large belch. "Sorry." She blushed.

Gordon elbowed Alan. "What a woman," he whispered in awe. Alan nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure they're fine . . . this sort of thing is routine for Tessa." Jeff placed a hearty piece of meat in his mouth.

"Yeah, but Vigil and her father aren't exactly best buddies," Scott pointed out.

"Trust me, they should be fine. I haven't had a phone call telling me I'll have to identify a body yet, so I think they'll be fine." The boys laughed.

Lana just looked confused. "Why do you say that?"

Alan smiled. "Miss. Fitzy - when Virgil comes in with a large band-aid on his forehead, a broken arm, and a limp, you'll understand." He bit off the piece of meat on the end of his fork.

"Virgil, where are you going?" Tess asked.

Virgil looked at her from where she stood in his hotel room's doorway, her's being across the hall. "Out."

"Out where?"

"Out shopping. For father's day." He turned to face her. "All our mail, Dad'll see right? So, the guys make one of us, every year, do the shopping for everyone. So, see, I have a list. And, I have to gift wrap them." He presented her with a sheet of paper, scribbled on it things like:

Watch - Alan (£25-75)

Hammock - Gordon (£50-100)

"Wow. Nice. Can I come?" Tessa handed the list back to him.

Virgil shrugged. "I guess . . ."

Tess just stared at him. "Well, why not?"

"No, you can come. I just want to leave in five minutes. I _know_ you won't be ready."

She smiled at him. "I'll be ready." She walked across the hall back to her room, a lot more spring in her step now that she was sure of what he was up to.

"Okay, each of these _fine_ companies operates differently. Which is strange, because there is usually a pattern between companies that have been hit." Lana was rapidly pointing things out to Jeff on those papers.

"Interesting . . . yes." Jeff nodded, not really understanding her, as she was talking so fast.

"It's highly unlikely that a criminal would just randomly hit power plants. If he's just picking them off with no real plan, then he's bound to screw up."

Jeff tried to say something, but Lana was on a roll. "The first hit was in Quebec, and it was a Wind power plant called Gatineau Alternative. Next, was a plant called Manitoba Electric Resources - three guesses where it was located. The third was a new plant in Saskatchewan called Solartations. And, finally, when you called me, a large firm called Ontario Nuclear was blown to bits."

Jeff stared at the many papers outlining various logos, and company outlets. "There's no connection _at all _between these plants?"

"Not that I can find, sir. There has to be _something _we're not seeing, though."

Gordon spoke up. "Well, who are our suspects?"

She looked at him, trying to directly answer his question. "It's difficult to say. I have some here, but I'm making guesses. What we need is a motive." Lana shook her head at the small list.

Alan thought for a moment. "Well, there's environmentalists . . ."

Gordon smacked him. "Then how do you account for the solar and wind plants!"

Alan stared at his brother. "It was _just_ a suggestion. Besides, by putting up the wind thingys, and solar panels, they might be destroying a valuable piece of land."

Lana thought. "I'll keep it in mind. But, I seriously doubt it, Alan. Sorry."

There was silence for a moment.

"Jealousy," Scott spoke up, after being so quiet, "the ultimate motive."

Lana was puzzled. "How do you mean, Scott?"

He folded his arms. "Look at it this way: one company wants a piece of land, and another company has it already. Or, one company works the market that another wants. Catch my drift?"

Lana thought. "Of course . . . makes perfect sense."

Jeff turned to her, excited. "Lana, do you have a list of companies that _haven't_ been hit!"

She ruffled through some papers. "Here - a list of some I thought _may_ be in danger."

"Who's on it?" Tin-tin asked.

"Redwork Energy Services, owned by Anthony Henderson, and it specializes in hydro; Nuclear Solutions, owned by John T. Scalps; Solaration, which is owned by Richard Nelson; and Gamerson's Electric, operated by Peter Williams."

Scott thought a moment. "There _has_ to be a connection or a clue or something somewhere . . ."

Lana looked down. "There isn't. Our next clue might be the fatal one."

"So, what're you getting _your_ father?"

Tess smiled at Virgil. "Nothing. I gave him a hug when I came in, right? That's what I gave him."

Virgil knit his brow. "Well, yes, but why don't you give him something that he can hang onto and can remember you by when you leave? Like a picture or something?"

Tess stopped in the mall, clutching John and Alan's bags. "Okay, first of all, any picture I have of myself will have been taken on Tracy Island right? Yeah . . . I don't think he'd appreciate that. Even _if_ I could find a picture that didn't have one of you boys in it. And, secondly, most importantly, he's in _maximum security_. He's not _allowed_ to have personal things. Remember the fight I had to put up to even be allowed to see him? Yeah, he gave up his rights to own much of anything." She looked at him dead seriously. "He's had his toothbrush personalized for lack of objects."

Virgil's eyebrows shot up. "Oh." He continued walking, and she followed. They rounded a corner and stopped again.

Virgil looked apologetic. "Listen, I got to go answer a phone call . . ."

She looked confused. "From who?"

He tilted his head and stared.

She blushed and laughed. "Oh. Okay . . . um, meet me in the bookstore, alright? I need a couple new novels anyway."

He smiled, and kissed her. "Okay, meet you there in a fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen?"

He shrugged. "Hey, I gotta find the phones first." He backed away, waving apologetically.

She shook her head, and turned into the large bookstore.

Virgil smiled from down the hall at her, feeling on top of the world. He turned back around, and walked right past the huge sign reading "Washrooms".

Scott lay almost asleep by the pool, appearing to be sunbathing, while he was really thinking about the case.

Scott sat up with a start at the sound of a large splash.

He watched as a slender figure swam beneath the surface of the water, as graceful as a dolphin. He was mesmerized by them.

Lana broke through the water's surface. She swept her hair back with one hand, while the other grabbed a towel at the water's edge, and dabbed at her face.

Scott broke from her spell. Sure, he'd been wrong about a couple of things. Lana did not have dark red hair, she was more of a brunette. Anyone could have missed that. And, sure, her nails weren't manicured, but he was sure she'd had them done at some point. So maybe she was more of a tomboy than he first thought - big deal.

What he could not get over was her ferocious reaction to when he'd called her a 'farmer'. She _was_ a farmer . . . what was the big deal? Did she have issues with herself? Was there as story?

He wanted to ask her so bad. He tried to hold himself back, but couldn't help it. "Why don't you want to be a farmer?" he found himself asking.

Lana jumped, and turned to face him. When she realized who it was, her dark eyes narrowed. "Why would you care?"

"Because I want to know what kind of nerve I hit so I _don't _hit it again."

Lana laughed, using her arms to push herself up onto the edge of the pool opposite to the edge Scott was laying near. She took the towel, and began dabbing her hair. She thought for a moment. "I guess that's just not who I am . . . it's complicated, Scott. Let's just leave it at that."

Scott stared at the ground for a moment. "If you don't want to be a farmer, then why are you one?"

"Look, I told you to drop it, okay!" she snapped, standing up.

Scott stood up as well, staring daggers at her from across the pool. "I've tried to be civil with you, I've tried to understand you; what _more_ do you want from me!"

"To leave me alone!" Lana ran off, practically in tears.

Scott stood there for a moment, staring after her, thinking. After a few seconds, he threw up his hands in the air, turning around, and proclaimed loudly, "Women!"

"So, exactly, how do we smuggle this stuff back in without Jeff-"Tess checked to make sure no one in the cockpit was listening, "or Kyrano noticing?"

They were on the private jet, on their way home from London. Kyrano was driving, but Tin-tin had asked them to pick something up for her for her father. Tessa was perched on her comfortable, armchair, facing Virgil. Carrying bags that they hadn't had time to pack surrounded their feet.

Virgil leaned closer to her. "What we do, is we stuff our suitcases _full_ until they're _bursting_ with father's day crap, and we tell them we went on a shopping spree."

She leaned back, and crossed her arms against her sleeveless turtleneck. "A shopping spree? Don't you think he'll want to see what we bought?"

Virgil laughed. "Tess, my father _hates_ shopping. He hates everything about the topic, especially girly stuff. So, if we just claim that _you_ did a little clothes shopping, we're good."

"Then _why_ would my clothes be in _your_ suitcase?"

"You ran out of room." He grinned from ear to ear. "C'mon, let's start shoving stuff in suitcases."

They got up from their chairs, and began to pick up various bags and shove them into suitcases.

"So, Tessa, how did your father take the news?" Virgil asked.

"Hmm . . . what news?" Tess seemed distracted by Scott's gift, which at first looked to be ladies undergarments. _Virgil must have bought these . . . _she thought.

"Didn't he tell you after I came out?" Virgil seemed perplexed at Gordon's hammock.

Realization dawned on Tessa's face. She dropped the boxers in disgust. "Oh. Right . . .he didn't take the idea well. Frankly, I'm surprised you had the nerve to ask him if we could go for a weekend-long vacation together . . . alone." She blushed.

He gave her a smile that told her of his love. "I'm surprised too. But, I love you, so it was worth it. Frankly, I'm surprised he didn't try to kill me . . . hey, Tess, did you pick out this pattern?" He held the hammock up high.

She turned around and stared at it. "Yes, I did. I thought he might like green and blue as opposed to that brown thing he used to have . . . disgusting thing,"she added to herself

Virgil folded it, and placed it over his gift in his suitcase. "So, what exactly did your father say?"

She picked up Alan's watch and placed the gift-wrapped package next to her nightdress. She laughed. "You sure you want to know? There was an _awful_ lot of swearing directed at you." She turned, and smiled at him over her shoulder. "But, I'm sure he loves you deep down."

He smiled sarcastically. "I'm _so _sure."

She shrugged in response, folding Tin-tin's gift up, and making doubly sure Kyrano wasn't paying attention to anything but the sky.

Virgil zipped up his bag, and turned to face her. "All done?"

A zip sounded, and she turned, making a show of wiping her hands together. "Done."

Kyrano's voice carried from the cockpit. "We'll be landing in a few minutes, Mr. Tracy, Miss. Highlander."

Jeff and Lana ran outside to greet Virgil and Tessa as they descended from the plane.

"Jeff?" Lana asked, as they approached the plane.

Jeff waved at his son and "adoptive" daughter, who were carrying their luggage from the plane. "Yes, Lana?"

Lana waved as well, keeping her voice loud enough for only Jeff to hear. "It may be my imagination, but Tessa seems to wear a lot of turtlenecks, and her hair down . . ."

Jeff continued smiling, not really sure where this was going. "Yes, and . . .?"

"Well, I get the feeling she doesn't do that for a fashion trend."

Jeff put his hand down and began to walk towards the plane again. "Unfortunately, there are some things about Tessa that I believe only Tessa herself would tell. But, I will say you guessed right."

Before Lana could add anything more, Virgil and Tess were in earshot. Jeff was excited. "Virgil! Tess! How'd it go?"

Tess smiled at Virgil behind her. "He might never be allowed back."

Jeff laughed. "That a boy, son. I knew if you tried you could control your temper. C'mon, let's get inside; I think it's going to rain."

He picked up Tessa's suitcase, and placed his hand on her back, coaxing her along, ahead of the other three.

She continued to smile happily, until he leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "So, did they get me anything good this year?"

She tried to pretend that she didn't know what he was taking about. "I'm sorry, Mr. Tracy? I don't think I quite follow."

Jeff smiled. "Tess, I like to think of myself as being halfway intelligent. I was an astronaut, for crying out loud. Every year, a week or so before Father's Day, one of my sons goes missing. And then, _on_ Father's Day, I see all of these gorgeous presents. But nothing has come in the mail. Now, how did _that_ happen?"

She smiled. "Okay. Fine . . .but that doesn't mean we went shopping for a Father's Day present or two."

"Well, see, I noticed your bags were both considerably lighter when you left. And, up until now, none of my boys have left the island, except on missions."

Tess shrugged. "So, talk to Penny. I'm sure she's been shopping in the past while."

Jeff smiled a secret, knowing smile as they climbed the steps. "Okay, but if I know my son, he'll try to cover it with a lie like 'Tessa went on a clothes-shopping spree, and ran out of room in her suitcase.'" He released her back, and opened the door for her. "But, hey, I'm sure he wouldn't try and pull something like that." He offered Tess her suitcase.

Tess smiled at him, but was failing inside. She took back the duffle bag.

Virgil soon caught up to her, and they entered the living room, passing a few of his brothers on the way to their individual bedrooms. Mr. Tracy and Lana followed them into the living room.

"Hey Virg," Gordon smiled, trying to make life miserable, "what's in the bag? It seems quite a bit fuller than when you left."

Virgil smiled like this was one of the stupidest issues ever. "There was a sale in the mall, and Tess bought more than could fit in her bag." He rolled his eyes.

Jeff smiled directly at Tess.

Tess kept on walking, only now her head was buried in her hand, and was shaking.

Virgil saw her on his way to his room. "What?" he called after her.

When they disappeared down the hall, Jeff turned to his boys. Shaking his head, he said simply, "You guys _have_ to stop being so obvious." He patted Alan on the shoulder as he walked away.

Scott was sitting at his father's desk, with a few blank sheets of paper and a cup of coffee. He couldn't sleep, so he decided to make use of his time. He was going to try and figure out what was going on with these power plants.

He knew there had to be a connection. There just had to. No competent arsonist would go around starting these fires for no reason.

Perhaps there was no logic in their striking, Scott explored, crumpling his second sheet of paper, and playing basketball with his father's wastebasket. He thought for a moment. There had to be _some_ logic in their striking, he decided. He picked up his coffee.

He stared at the sheet of paper Lana had left with the names of all companies hit on it. He thought for a moment. There had to be something that this person - or persons - didn't like about these plants.

He picked up his pen, and pulled a fresh sheet of paper over near him. He ignored the lines as he wrote.

Wind

Wind

Solar

Nuclear

He stared at the list. None of these really damaged the environment - apart from hazardous waste. Somehow, though, he strongly doubted that this was the motive the arsonist was using. He threw the paper in the trash.

He thought for a moment, placing one foot on top of the other under the desk. Scott sipped his coffee. He picked up the pen, and began to absent-mindedly write the names of the companies on the final sheet of paper.

Gatineau

Alternative

Manitoba

Energy

Resources

Solartations

Ontario

Nuclear

He stared at the sheet, as he fingered a rim stain of coffee left on a coaster. He puzzled and puzzled about this mystery, until his puzzler was sore. He picked up his empty coffee cup, and carried it to the kitchen, for Kyrano or whomever to wash in the morning.

On his way to bed though, he stopped at the desk. He picked up the paper, and stared at it for a moment. Abruptly, he violently crumpled the paper, and threw it at the trash, missing by forever. He stared at it with murder in his eyes, more from being tired than frustrated.

_If only there were a single clue,_ he thought.

He was soon inside the four walls of his room, sleeping, dreaming of saving the lives of the next fire, not realizing that his biggest clue was the one he'd _almost_ thrown out.

Tess smiled as she continued wiping Jeff's desk with a moist cloth, her boyfriend following her with a dry one. She grinned up at him with a gleam in her eyes. "Dare."

He thought for a moment. Then he smiled a devious smile. He dropped the cloth as she continued to scrub, and pulled her close. He whispered something in her ear.

"No way!" Tess explained.

"What's the matter? Hey, I took the one where you dared me to drink an open can of soda in the refrigerator!" Virgil let her go, his arms in the air.

She smiled at him, her smile even more devious. She dropped the cloth. "I just said 'no way'. As in, nice. I never said I wouldn't do it." She ran a finger over his shoulder as she walked towards the hallway.

There was silence for a few minutes. He saw her run quickly out the back door, something clutched in her hands.

Virgil wiped the rest of the table, and threw the rags into the kitchen quickly.

Suddenly a yell came. "Hey! What the - oh, you're so _dead_, Highlander!"

Virgil bit his tongue with excitement. Tess came barrelling through the back door at him. "C'mon, Virgil! You _have_ to see it!" She grabbed his hand, and pulled him outside at top speed.

They ran along the beach until they could get a good view.

Virgil searched the sky, and Tess pointed it out to him.

There, where the American and United Kingdom flags should have flapped proudly, waved a pair of boxer shorts with a clearly written message of "Monday" on them. Beneath them, a large, crudely drawn sign read, "What day _is_ it, Scott?".

Virgil knelt over with laughter.

Tess smiled proudly at her work, her hands on her hips. "You owe me Prada for this one, buddy."

Virgil got up, wiping a tear from his eye. He looked her happily. "This, I can do better than Prada for." He pulled her into an embrace, and kissed her softly. "Now, c'mon. We have to find the digital camera - I highly doubt this is something John would want to miss."

Jeff sat at his desk, his hands folded. He stared at them as though they were ten years old. "That was very wrong. Now, can you tell me _why_ it was wrong to run Scott's underwear up the flagpole?"

Tess leaned towards Virgil. "Because we didn't find the ones with skid marks."

Virgil tried to maintain his composure. "Because Scott doesn't want anyone to know what his underwear looks like?"

Jeff looked at his son seriously. "Exactly. Now, what are we going to do next time we have the desire to hang his underwear from the flagpole?"

Virgil leaned toward Tessa. "Go for the briefs."

Tess bit her lip. "Remain calm, and hold back the urge, sir?"

Jeff leaned back in his seat. "Very good. Now, I don't expect this to happen again, understand?"

"Yes . . ." they said together, in a monotone voice.

"I want you to apologize to Scott for all of this."

Tess and Virgil stared at Jeff. "But-"

"We were just-"

"That's not fair!"

Jeff held up his hand to silence them. "I want no more of this, understand? This is very childish behaviour. I expect more from you. Especially you, Virgil."

Virgil had the same look as someone who knew they were being blackmailed, and also that there was no way out of it. "Okay, fine, I'll go and give Scott my sincerest apologies."

He turned and left his father. Tess stared at him as he left as though he were handing over power of attorney.

Once they were gone, Jeff smiled. He shook his head and laughed very loudly. Even he enjoyed a good joke now and then.

Lana was sitting in the living room on an armchair. It was only her and Tessa in the room. Tess was sitting on another chair, painting her toenails.

"Tess," Lana began, "can I ask you a question? I can understand if you won't want to answer it."

Tessa capped her nail polish. "Sure . . . what did you want to ask?"

Lana eyed her shirt. "I was wondering . . . why do you enjoy wearing collars so much?"

Tess looked deflated. "I don't suppose it would hurt to let you know. They cover up an unpleasantness."

Lana looked confused.

Tess grabbed the back of the thick choker necklace she was wearing and pulled it off.

There, at the base of her neck, was a thick, twisted scar that seemed like it had only just healed. Lana stared for a moment, before averting her eyes.

Tess put the collar back on. "I don't like to see it. I don't like anyone to see it. My father gave it to me. He was taking me as a hostage, and, well, he needed something for the cameras."

Lana looked down,. "I'm sorry, Tessa . . ."

Tess shrugged. "It's not your fault." She went back to her toes, oblivious to much of anything else.

It was two a.m. Only 4 hours to go until Operation Father's Day was put into production, and there were still plenty of things to be done.

The five boys met in the foyer. Scott smiled, "Ready?"

Alan smiled, "You bet."

"Virgil, presents?" Scott called, clipboard in hand.

He held up a huge trash bag. "Check."

"Gift wrap?"

Gordon snipped the scissors in mid-air. "Check!"

"Ribbons, bows, and everything cheesy?"

Alan held up a large box. "Check."

"Massive e-card spamming on standby?"

John's picture on the wall held up it's hands in a meaningful gesture. "Check."

Scott made a few marks on his paper. "And I have the stolen cake. Looks like we're good to go, boys." He looked up, smiling. "Let's go; Virgil, you and Gordon gift wrap; Alan, you and I'll work on those decorations; John, you hack into the computer system. All right, gang, let's hustle!"

Virgil and Gordon were on their knees in minutes, sorting out how to get these presents wrapped. Scott and Alan disappeared into the kitchen.

"Let's start with ours." Virgil took out the hammock and handed it to his brother. He pulled out his own gift - a medium-sized wooden box, specially prepared for the day ahead.

Gordon took out a pink floral print tube of wrapping paper, and stretched it on the floor. "You ever wonder why we don't do any of this sooner? Or, like, _not_ at two in the morning?"

Virgil shrugged, making sure the green wrapping paper was perfectly tight on the box. "I guess it's like a double-cover-up. We can leave stuff like this out in the wide open, and he wouldn't suspect a thing; but the second we wrap it up . . ."

Gordon nodded in understanding, pulling another gift from the bag.

"Little farther, little farther . . ." Alan called to Scott in an old ladyish voice, holding one end of the ribbon. He was going for the easy method of wrapping the whole house with one strand.

"Virgil! I need your finger, and your tape!" Alan called. His brother rushed over, and held the ribbon while Alan used a half a foot worth of tape.

Gordon was eyeing the ribbon. "Um, Alan, did you pick out this ribbon yourself?"

Alan raised an eyebrow. "Well, I found it in the basement . . ."

Gordon was still staring at the ribbon. "Are you sure . . .? Never mind, I'm sure dad will love it." He went back to the gifts, laughing.

Alan taped another part of it up. "Well, what's wrong with it?"

Virgil bit his lip. "Alan, are you aware it says 'Congratulations! It's a boy!' on it?"

Alan turned. "It says _what!_"

Scott came out from the kitchen, tons of ribbon following him. "What's going on?"

Gordon was laughing. "The ribbon."

"What about it!"

Virgil chuckled. "It's a little too literal."

Scott stared at it. He shook his head. "Geez, Alan! Oh, well . . . too late now. We'll just hope no one notices."

Scott sat at the barbeque. The family was very excited. Although, only the Tracys plus Tess and Lana were there. Kyrano's family had taken him to London for the next two days, and Brains had gone to visit Fermat at Fermat's place of occupation.

"Hey, Scott, what's on the grill?" Lana called.

Scott turned, staring at her. He said in a flat, monotone voice, "We're having chicken." A camera flashed.

Lana laughed. Not at the statement; the only reason she had asked him to turn around and pose for the camera. She (with the help of his more than willing brothers) had forced him to wear a chef's puffy hat, and an apron that said "Kiss me, I'm Canadian". Needless to say, Scott was not impressed.

They were in a circle, waiting for the grub. The group just sat around joking.

"So," Tessa asked, sipping her ice tea, "who should we congratulate on that bouncing baby boy?" Lana snorted her drink.

"Alan!" Gordon and Virgil said at once.

Lana smiled, wiping her nose. "Alan, is there something you're not telling us?"

Alan gave her the evil eye from the corner. "I found them in the basement! There was a ton of it! How was I supposed to know what it said?"

"Read it?" Jeff suggested.

Tess gave him a serious look. "Oh, Jeff, I don't know if Alan's up to that. I mean, 'Congratulations' alone has 15 letters." She smiled at poor Alan.

"Okay, we need to do something while we wait for that chicken," Alan suggested, standing up.

"Hey, it's not my fault if the baby boy forgot to thaw it out last night." Scott rolled his eyes.

Jeff smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Let's open presents." He smiled at Virgil.

Virgil smiled back from where he bobbed in the pool. "I guess we could do that . . . any objections, Scott?"

"You can do whatever you want so long as it doesn't include my underwear up a flagpole. Again."

Tess smiled, glancing at Virgil, who bobbed in the pool near the edge she sat on. "Well, I can't make any guarantees there, Scott. But, I'll do my best."

"Which one should I start with?" Jeff asked, eyeing the pile of gifts stacked neatly on one side.

"Open mine!" Alan yelled.

"No! Mine!" Gordon countered, trying to be as childish as possible.

"John's!" Tess yelled grinning.

"Tess's!" Lana suggested.

Jeff laughed. "Pass me Alan's . . . he yelled first."

Lana passed him the gift, which was on top of the pile next to her. It was wrapped in bright blue snowflake paper.

Jeff carefully ripped the paper where the tape connected it. "Wow! A watch!"

"It's water proof this time," Alan said, nodding as if it were the best thing he'd ever done.

Gordon pulled a sarcastically impressed face. "Ooh, fancy-shmansy . . . you'll need that, Dad."

Alan stuck his tongue out. Jeff just laughed, and passed the watch to Virgil for inspection.

"Open mine!" Scott called, flipping the chicken.

Lana passed Jeff a bright pink floppy package from where she sat beside him. Jeff tore it open (hoping to not ever see that paper again). "Boxers! Wow, Scott." Jeff laughed, as he held them up. In fact, he laughed rather hard. Tess and the others looked at him rather peculiarly until he turned them around to reveal the word "Sunday".

They continued on in their Father's Day gifts, laughing at the fuzzy duck that sang "Thexy Thing", wondering who in the world sent him such a gift (no card). There were other gifts too that were very touching. Tess had given him a rather simple, but heartfelt gift. As he opened her package, he found a simply framed picture of the two of them, with an inscription on the bottom of the frame. "I Love You, Dad."

Jeff smiled at her. She looked away, blushing. "You've been better to me than my own father." Jeff passed the frame back to Lana, and went over to hug Tess (an unusual thing for Jeff). This was followed by a chorus of "Aw" from the boys.

"One gift left," Lana proclaimed, handing the package to Jeff as he sat back down.

Jeff took the package. "From Virgil." He opened the green wrapping paper as carefully as he could.

Inside of it, was a painted wooden keepsake box. Mr. Tracy opened it, making a show of being surprised.

There was a small splash as Virgil hopped out of the pool. "It's for you to store pictures of us and mom, or other mementoes."

Mr. Tracy smiled as he felt the silk interior. Lana smiled, touched, at the interior - or perhaps, everything about the gift. One will never know.

Jeff closed the box, and handed it to Tess. He'd made a point of letting everyone see the different gifts. The boys began talking amongst themselves, including Lana and Jeff.

Tess smiled at Virgil, as if to tell him that she thought it was a very sweet present. She studied the pattern of the outside for a moment. Then she opened the box. Virgil, Jeff, and Lana held their breath.

For a moment Tess said nothing. She stared at the box, wondering whether she should pinch herself to wake up or scream at this. She didn't wake up though. The other brothers stared, confused, at her as her breathing came out in long, shaky breaths. She set the box down in the middle of the circle, so that everyone could see. She stood back, still in awe.

Inside of this box was a small, opened box, and a diamond ring. Next to it was a handwritten note that asked, "Will you marry me, Tessa?" Her hand went to her mouth.

Virgil smiled at her. "Tess, I love you. I love you more than you will probably ever know. The only thing that could make me any happier right now would be if you said yes." He pulled the ring from the keepsake box. He knelt down next to her, dripping wet. "Tessa Highlander, will you agree to marry me?"

A tear rolled down her cheek. She dropped down to his level and pulled him into her arms in one rapid motion. As she sobbed, one word was audible.

"Yes."

A cheer erupted from the others as Virgil hugged her, then pulled her back, slipping the diamond on her finger.

Even Scott clapped as he pulled her in for the kiss.

"So, let me get this straight - _everyone_ was in on this except me?" Scott quietly asked Lana.

Lana wasn't even making eye contact. "Yes. In a way. We all saw it coming, but only Jeff knew when it was actually going to happen."

Scott continued to follow Lana inside. "But . . . how did _you_ know?"

"It should have been obvious, Scott. He was always slipping around her . . . acting a little nervous . . . and then there was that fight her father and him had that Tess described for us. I highly doubt her father would have taken the idea of them being alone together for a whole weekend _that_ well. And, besides that, your father considers her a daughter. Do you really think he'd let his son take her out in that type of setting? Now, Scott, if you don't mind _me_ asking _you_ a question, howdid you_ miss_ it?" She stared right at him.

Scott raised his hand, and pointed to her. "My relationship with my family - or future family, as the case may be - is none of your concern, Miss. Fitzgerald. And, I did not miss it. I had other concerns on my hands besides those of my brother."

Lana raised a carefully plucked eyebrow as she picked up a watering can to feed the plants. "You've no need to take that tone with me. Wasn't like it was my fault, eh. All I did was ask a simple question; if you can't create a simple answer to that, that's your problem. Not mine."

Scott stared at her. "Oh, yeah, that's _such_ a simple question. I'm sure. Geez, if it were any simpler, it'd be for special ed."

Lana turned on him. "Scott, why are you attacking me over an issue that doesn't concern either of us?"

He was yelling at her now. "Because you're making it concern the both of us!"

Lana placed the watering can back on the table with such force, the room may as well have shaken. "_I'm_ making this a big deal! Who's the person who started this!"

"Does it really matter!"

"Not as long as someone finishes it before Jeff comes in behind us!"

Scott's eyes burned. "Then let's finish it!"

"Okay!" Lana's eyes burned right back as she slapped him as hard as she could straight across the face. She turned, and started to finish the journey up the steps to the house. She turned back to him, bitterness burning through her voice. "I take lessons from Tessa." Scott's hand was practically glued to his face, which was contorted with pain.

The next time Lana saw Scott, it was late into the evening. Tess was at Virgil's side (as she had been for practically every moment since "Yes"). Gordon and Alan were no where to be found, and Jeff was - surprise, surprise - at his desk trying, as so many had failed, to figure out what was going on with these fires, or at the very least, who was going to be next.

"Hello, Scott." Lana was staring hard at the back of his head. Scott turned, and she burst out laughing.

"It is _so_ not funny." Scott rolled his eyes, turning back around.

She wiped a tear from her eye. "No regular band-aids, eh?"

Scott squinted at the wall. His voice was very sarcastic. "No, I just like hot pink."

Tess smiled, still staring at Virgil. "You wacked him pretty good. He had to borrow one of my overly- large band-aids that Virgil bought me for my neck. Scott wasn't amused, though."

Lana smiled. "I'd put money on that, eh." She headed towards the other room for a glass of milk.

"What is with that word!" Scott demanded.

"What word?" Lana asked, looking confused.

"Eh." Scott's eyes rolled again.

Lana raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about, eh."

"See what I mean!" he yelled.

Lana laughed, a little nervously. "Scott, I haven't once used the word 'eh' while I was here."

"Fitzy, you use it in _every_ sentence . . ." Tess pointed out.

"Do I?" Lana asked.

Scott stared at the ceiling. "This is ridiculous!" he proclaimed.

Lana picked up her glass and edged away. "Yes, it is." Scott ran off to do heaven knows what.

Virgil gave her the thumbs-up sign. "Way to go, Lana. You've successfully confused Scott."

Lana took a gulp of her milk. "I've confused myself, eh?"

Scott was up late again. It had been a few days since Tessa and Virgil had become engaged. He had to admit it, he'd never seen Tess or Virgil quite as happy. Not even when Tessa was dating him was she this happy. He was glad that they were together, but he was also depressed. He had loved Tessa very much, and that was the only reason he hadn't seen the proposal coming. Only recently had he gotten over her.

Actually, truth be told, he still wasn't fully over her. That made him feel pathetic.

Scott just sat there at his father's desk, trying to push his thoughts back towards this mystery. If he could just focus, he was sure he could figure out what was going on here.

He picked up the sheet with all the possible suspects on it, and also those who were at risk. He needed to pick out who was to blame, or who was next. Fast. His gut was telling him that the guilty party was going to strike again soon.

He picked up his coffee cup, and brought it halfway to his lips. He stopped for a moment, thinking for a long while. He didn't really have one particular thought that stuck out from the others, he was just lost in a trance.

He snapped out of it after a few moments, wondering why he was still up. He turned to see Lana in the kitchen.

_Why don't I get along with her?_ Scott questioned himself. _How is it that every time we're together, an argument breaks out?_

He wondered why she was so touchy about farming. She _was_ a farmer, after all. She should be able to take the fact that she looked the was she was "supposed to". There was something wrong here, and he knew it.

_She's just _such_ an awful person . . . _he thought to himself.

He watched as she reached up to grab something from the top shelf, which in turn pulled her short housecoat up to reveal her tight pyjama shorts.

Scott leaned back, his eyebrows up. _She's not that bad, I guess._ He quickly got up from the chair, and walked towards his room.

Tessa stared over her cards at Alan, an intense look on her face, as she checked back at her jack, queen, king and ace, all of the hearts suite. Alan returned the intense look. Tess shot a glance at fiancé, whose eyebrow shot up. She licked her lips, and eyed the fair sized pile of poker chips in the middle of the table. A grin pulled at the corner of her mouth, and her face looked seductive to young Alan as she spoke.

"Go. Fish."

Alan jumped up from his chair, throwing his cards down on the table. "Confound it!"

She laughed, leaning back in her chair. Virgil grinned right along with her. She pulled the pile of chips close to her. "I win. Let's see . . ." she began to add numbers onto a scrap piece of paper, "that'll be . . . 17 snickers, 3 Milky Ways, 12 Caramilks and an O Henry that you owe me, Sprout. When shall I expect payment?"

Alan sat back down. "Next week, sometime. I'll have to do some, er, 'borrowing'."

Virgil smiled. "Now that this has been settled, where do we stand on our bets?"

Tess bent down, and picked up a small stenography pad.

Alan turned his chair around, and sat back down. "You know, we really _should_ stop gambling like this . . . or at least, let Gordon in on it."

Tess began flipping pages. "Yeah, Gordon can be let in on it as soon as he pays me back the five bucks he owes me from Christmas. Besides, Gordon would want to use money, and we have our very strict rule of candy or higher - aw, here we go." She handed the book to Virgil.

He took it, and kissed her softly on the cheek. "Now, let's see . . . this is how the betting stands for this week: Alan, you've bid a Kit Kat on Dad tripping over his shoelace while in the kitchen getting a tuna sandwich for lunch because Kyrano is away. Wow, that was specific. Tessa, you bid against it."

Tess shrugged. "It hasn't happened yet, though, so, Alan, pay up."

Alan held a finger up. "Three . . . two . . ."

_Plunk . . . crash, crash, crash._ "Dait!"

Alan smiled smugly, as he placed his hand out. Tess rolled her eyes, and reluctantly placed the Kit Kat in his greedy little hands.

Virgil shook his head. "Okay, now, for the biggy. Tess, you bet Scott kisses Lana within the next-"he checked his watch, "-48 hours, I bet within the next 48-96 hours, and Alan, you bid he never kisses her. All of us have bid . . ." he checked the papers, and pulled a face, "a king-sized Mars bar. Whoa. High stakes here, guys."

Alan's mouth dropped. "A _whole_ king-sized one!"

Tessa checked the paper. "Yup. A whole king-sized one. Wow." She stared at Alan. "The heat is on. And this time, I want _no_ interference. These are high stakes."

Virgil smiled at her. "You do realize that in saying this, Alan is going to do everything in his power to make sure that those two never get together?"

Tess looked from her future husband to her future brother-in-law. "He better not. This isn't a bruise we're talking about; this is human affection. Technically, it's bad enough we're betting on it. But since there's not much else to do until the next rescue-"

Virgil placed a finger to her lips, and they sat silent for a minute.

"Alan! You get your hide over here right now you little #&!"

As Alan turned back around, he realized that Tessa and Virgil had _already_ abandoned him to face his father alone. Alan decided he'd be better off following in their tracks for this one.

Scott sipped at his coffee, once again, giving this mystery a go. Tonight he was copying logos from the various companies to see if, perhaps, there was a connection in that field. There seemed to be no such connection, though, as he crumpled his third sheet of paper.

He turned his head in frustration, and threw the ball towards nowhere in particular, letting it land wherever it wished. It landed at the feet of Lana, and she bent to pick it up, never spilling a drop of coffee in doing so.

"Can't sleep?" she asked casually.

Scott was startled. He stood up, drawing himself to his full height, several inches taller than her. "What business is it of yours?"

She raised an eyebrow, and took a sip of coffee before sitting down. "Wow, aren't we the little barrel of affection."

"Well, you started it," he said defensively, coming out from behind the desk, and taking a seat across from her.

She smiled, and shook her head. "All I asked was a simple question that didn't even need to be answered."

He shook her a bitter glance. "You always try to pry."

She set her coffee down. "What is it with you!" she asked, standing up. "All you ever do is twist my words into something that's hateful, not something I've actually said."

He stood up. "There's something wrong with _me_! I'm not the one who's a farmer, but gets all moody if one dares call me that."

Her eyes narrowed. Her hands went to her sides. "How dare you. You know nothing of my life, and here you are, ready to judge me!"

He rolled his eyes. "There you go again! Even mentioning this makes you flip out."

Her hand went to her forehead. She let out a small laugh. "Scott, I think I actually hate you."

His eye twitched. He leaned towards her. "Yeah? Well, here's a newsflash, Princess Dairy, I hate you too!"

Her eyes shot to his face, staring daggers into him. Her eyes locked his, and for a moment, the only sound heard was their breathing.

Scott's eyes darted towards her mouth, then in a rapid movement back towards her eyes. He tried to remain focussed. He'd just professed absolute hatred towards this women, after all.

But in her eyes he could see that something was deeply wrong with her. And, it didn't seem to have anything to do with their hatred.

Scott's mind failed him. Without thinking, he closed the gap between them, and their lips met.

At first it was nothing more. Then, his hand slipped around her waist.

The strange part of this was not the fact that he had kissed her, but rather the fact that she had not stopped him.

Lana's mind raced. One part of her wanted to push him off, and slap him so hard that this would _be_ his last kiss. But, somehow, her hand managed to slip behind his neck, and the kiss deepened even more.

Scott didn't know what to think. Part of him was still in shock over the fact that he had started this. The other wanted the first part to shut up and enjoy himself. He traced her lips with his.

Lana smiled. It had been ages since she'd smiled and been genuinely happy altogether.

Suddenly, it was as though the real Lana snapped back. Her eyes opened in a second, and she pulled herself out of his arms.

Scott backed away. He looked towards the opposite wall. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have done that . . ."

She clutched the inside of her elbow, and she stared at him, surprising even herself. "Please, don't be. It's not what you've done, it's what I've done."

He turned back towards her, causing her to look away. "How can that be?"

She sighed softly. "Scott, I've always made it a rule never to mix business with pleasure. It just causes trouble. In fact, I try to cover myself up with business-" She cut herself off, not wanting him to know the truth.

He took a few steps towards her. "Please. I swear, any office romances you've had before, I won't make this like them. I promise."

She wiped a tear from her eye. Here she was, a wreak, while he stood there like a rock. She smiled, but bit her lip to keep it from trembling. "Scott, if only you knew what I meant."

He turned her to face him. "Tell me, Lana. Please."

Lana tried to look away, but he seemed to follow her eyes wherever they went. "Lana, when I looked at you a few minutes ago, I thought what I felt was sheer hatred towards you. It's not. I've only been civil with you for a few minutes, but I can already tell that what I feel about you runs deeper than hatred." His hand grabbed hers. It was amazing. For some people, love took years maybe even decades to become this powerful. But for others, it could be as simple as a stray pair of lips wandering in the night.

She clenched his hand, and her watery eyes gazed into his. She let go, and sat down. He did the same, this time sitting next to her. She smiled at him. "You know how funny it is? Some people dread the day they leave their family. They've grown up with them, and now that they're on their own, they don't know what to do. Sometimes, they just stay near home, and work with the family. Me, I was the opposite. I was the rebel. I couldn't wait to leave. I hated being the 'farmer's daughter', and I hated cows, and I hated smelling bad all the time. But, I guess I hated my family most. Not because they were abusive - they were some of the sweetest people that way. But, they always had this idea in their head that I was always going to be there. That I was the next generation.

"I didn't want someone to plan my future for me. So, after high school, I moved away. I wanted to be an agent for CSIS, and that was that. I studied hard, and after years, I graduated. Your father says I was one of the best agents. I hate boasting, but if he picked me, there must have been something powerful there.

"Anyway, I was on the bureau for close to three years. I was so resentful towards my family that I failed to keep in contact with them. All they knew was that I had a successful job in Ottawa that paid well. None of them really knew that I was an agent. I never wanted them to come up to me and ask me to take over the farm for the weekend, or anything like that. I guess, deep down, buried somewhere though, I missed them."

Lana sighed heavily. She had not told this story often, but she hated this part anyway. "Then, one day, I got a letter. It told me that both my parents had died in a car crash. I was devastated. I mean, I didn't get to say goodbye - not that I deserved to. I mean, I lost my entire family. I never had any brothers or sisters, and my only real family members left were my cousins. Frankly, I didn't know what to do. I flew back home for the funeral. When I got there, I learned that my parents had left the farm to me to 'do with as I pleased'." She looked deep into his eyes. She barely felt the tear staining her cheek. "I'd already put them through enough. I quit CSIS. I quit my dream for them. I got a letter from Jeff one day, and I accepted, figuring this would be a consolation. But now, I don't know anymore . . ."

Scott looked down, understanding now why she hated everything representing farmers. Her parents were killed, and now she had to live out her life the way _they_ would have wanted. He couldn't blame her; after what happened to his mom, he had issues with snow. When his brothers teased him, he'd blow up.

He turned back to her, and kissed her softly on the forehead, his way of telling her that he understood. She smiled, thankful that they had finally reached an understanding.

He smiled for a more selfish reason. He finally realized that Tessa was over for him.

Lana creased her brow slightly, and pulled back a little. Scott was puzzled. She got up, and walked around the desk. He turned his head, and watched her move.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

She bent down, then came back up. She held up a paper ball in her hand. "What's this?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I've been working on the case for awhile at night. It's just a failed attempt."

She walked back to him. She sat down, her fingers feeling subliminally warm around the crumpled paper. She shrugged, her face relaxing. "Oh."

But her eyes were sharp. Some small feeling at the back of her head was gnawing at her to open it up. She did so, completely confusing Scott. The ink was a little smudged, but was still legible.

Gatineau

Alternative

Manitoba

Energy

Resources

Solartations

Ontario

Nuclear

At first she crumpled the paper back up. Then, all of the sudden, gears in her brain began to turn. Her world seemed to unravel at this. She uncrumpled the paper, to check her idea. She set it down meticulously on the table, and ran to the desk to grab papers. The look on her face was as big as when Scott kissed her. He walked towards her.

She smiled at him, expecting him to understand right away. She grabbed him by the back of the neck, and brought him in for a kiss.

When he broke away, both of them were laughing.

"What's all this for?" he asked, grinning broader than ever.

"Don't you see?" she questioned, her brightness never faltering, as she placed the sheets in front of him, as if to make it completely obvious. Her voice was excited, yet modest. It was tiny though, overwhelmed with excitement. "I've cracked the code. I know who did it, _and_ who'll they'll strike next."


	3. A Rose at Sea

_Author's Notes:_

This chapter is more of a parody than I originally intended. Some scenes are more or less parodies without humour, unless you count irony, but are still reflections. If you catch them, good for you, if you don't, it doesn't really matter. I didn't write this to rip someone off, I did it as a way to pay respect to shows and movies, and things that I grew up around, feel deeply about, or that have helped me to learn. I will not list them, but will instead let you find them on your own. -Ewan

Chapter 3: A Rose at Sea

After kissing Scott hard several times, Lana found it very difficult to calm him down. Should they wake up the others? Or, should they wait until morning? Scott wasn't exactly up for option B.

Lana tried to make him be quiet. "Shush, Scott! Can I at least explain who it is and why?"

He shrugged, still jumping inside. "I guess that could work."

She held his hand as she pointed to the crumpled paper in front of them. "At first, we didn't know what these names meant. Gatineau Alternative, Manitoba Electric Resources, Solartations, and Ontario Nuclear meant nothing. But, when you wrote them out like this, I see the pattern. Can't you?"

Scott shook his head.

"It's an acronym. Take the first letters of each of these companies, and they almost spell another. It was Gamerson's Electric. Peter Williams is behind this."

Scott thought. "So that means . . . Solaration is next."

"Exactly."

Scott got up. "We have to tell dad."

She got up. "Scott, wait! Do you think it's wise to wake up Jeff?"

He smiled at her. But his tone was serious. "Lana, this is incredibly important. My father will be mad if we _don't_ wake him up. It's the time people go to work in Canada now. Those people could be in terrible danger."

He didn't wait for Lana's approval before running towards his father's room.

"Dad! Dad! We found it! Well, okay, Lana found it, but that's not the point. The point is . . . we found it!"

Jeff's groggy eyes stared at his son, and he wondered why Scott was in his room. "What?" he asked, squinting.

"Dad! Lana cracked the code! She got into Jasmine's pants! She's singing the praises of the bad guy! Whatever you want to call it, she's done it!"

Jeff still wasn't zoned in. He squinted at his eldest child, and asked in a groggy voice, "Lana's in whose pants, now?"

Scott shook his head. "No, dad, it's an expression from . . . oh, never mind. The point is, Lana's figured out who's been lighting the fires, and who's next!"

Jeff's eyes opened wide, and he sprung from his bed so quickly that he almost fell back over. Jeff regained his balance, and was in the living room in a heartbeat.

He faced Lana, and pointed a finger at her. "Now, what's all this I've heard about you cracking a code, and getting into someone's pants?"

She creased her forehead, and looked at Scott. "Um, I don't know anything about the pants, but I have cracked the 'code' of these fires." She handed him her notes.

He studied them, and she could see he was surprised. He handed them back to her. "Well, I'm impressed. Good work, Alana. Now, we _have_ to warn these people at Solaration that they're next. I'm going to phone them up right now. It'll be early there, but they need the heads-up."

"WILLIAMS! If you don't get this fixed right now, you better guard you're a-"

Peter shivered in his _imitation_ Armani suit. "Sir, it's n-not m-my fault! How was _I _to know that International Rescue would tip them off?"

His boss's eyes glared at him. "It's your job, Williams! Now, I don't want them to figure out anymore! It's bad enough they know which target we're going to hit next."

"Sir, you're not possibly planning to send us into battle against the Thunderbirds, are you?" Peter's eyes were wide.

The cold, hard gray eyes of his boss bore no warmth at all. "Of course not. That would be foolish. They think _your_ company is the one, so it will be _your_ troops that go into battle."

Peter's lips trembled. "I don't think I could do that, sir. My workers have families, and, and . . ."

His boss laughed out loud. "Not the workers. You. And, whichever goons you can hire with the small amount I'll allow you."

Peter couldn't stand the thought of this. He would rather commit suicide then go up against a Thunderbird. He'd have a far better chance of surviving, anyway. "Sir, but, why me?"

The man turned around to face the window. "Very simple. I said so. You may leave now, Williams, _if_ you can follow _that_ order."

Williams turned on his heels, and walked stiffly towards the door. He closed it behind him, and walked a few metres down the hall. He stopped, and turned to the door. He wanted to quit so badly. There was no point in this job. He didn't have a way out though.

_But I'll find one,_ he promised himself. He sealed it by spitting on the door. He turned, and resumed leaving.

"Roger that, Thunderbird 2, everything is F. A. B. over here. We are ready to go. Repeat, Thunderbirds are go." Tessa flipped the switches on her side, and nodded towards Scott, who was seated next to her, and was co-piloting. He flipped another few switches, and in a moment they were travelling vertically towards the sky.

Lana screamed with excitement in the back seat. She had begged Jeff to let her come along - she had, after all, solved this mystery. Jeff wasn't too reluctant. She was the only one of them that had been to Canada for reasons other than fires. She knew the land, and the people in it since her birth. In fact, Jeff wouldn't have been surprised if this was maybe only her second or third time out of Canada. Now, she was on her way back, to help protect some of her neighbours.

"This is great, Jeff! Why didn't you tell me it was this much fun!" she laughed into her headset.

He smiled from the other end.

Soon, Scott could see Virgil coming up behind him. He gave him a thumbs-up as he passed. Tessa blew him a kiss, and gave him a longing smile. She wanted to be in his craft, but Thunderbird One was the one Jeff felt she drove best. She loved all the crafts though, baring in mind she'd never been inside Thunderbird 5.

Tess turned to keep her eyes on t he sky. "Our ETA is 3.5 minutes. Fasten your seatbelts, kids, it's going to be a bumpy ride."

Scott turned to her. "Who're you calling a kid, small fry?"

She smiled, waving her hand in his face. "_I_ am going to get married, Scott. Now, _who's_ the small fry?"

He shook his head, and turned. He flashed Lana a grin, which Tessa caught, but didn't say anything about.

The next few minutes went by with very little talk, but a lot of thinking. Scott was thinking of how much he wanted Lana to be with him right now. Tessa was thinking of how happy she and Virgil would be. Lana was the opposite. She was wondering how she had gotten things so messed up in her life, and how she was going to fix them.

Scott was soon nodding to Tessa, and they began the landing procedure. In a moment, the seatbelts came off, and they were out, ready to help secure the perimeter and protect the people inside. This wasn't usually what they did, but Lana assured them that this was a small company, and would easily blow-up, and that they were in real danger.

As soon as they got out, in this bright early summer weather, Lana felt immediately at home. Even though it was not her home town, and was actually quite a bit more southern, she knew this was where she belonged for the rest of her life, and had to restrain herself from rolling on the grass.

Scott smiled as she twirled around, grasping the view of Saskatchewan once again. Tessa ran out, and waited for Virgil, who came out, and immediately joined her. They walked towards Lana and Scott.

Alan came out of Thunderbird two then. He looked around at the bright green grass, and gorgeous sunlight. Sweat beaded his forehead as he tossed his scarf to the ground. "Oh, man! I dressed for snow!" He waddled towards the others in his bulky snowsuit.

Lana turned around. "We're not far enough north yet for it to be snowing year-round, Alan. I _told_ you to dress normally!"

"Yeah, but I thought it was a joke."

She shrugged. "So, I guess you'll stop paying attention to stereotypes now, eh?"

He narrowed his eyes, and tried to catch up, but fell over instead. Soon, they were inside the power plant, trying to save those in danger.

"Sir! Please! I have important information!" Peter banged on the door of his boss, hoping that his job wasn't on the line.

The door burst open, and a pair of piercing eyes stared at him. "What is it!" he spat.

Peter quivered. "Thunderbirds have l-landed."

"Is that all?" the man asked, through clenched teeth.

Peter held up the papers as a defence. "N-no. I know th-that they have a-an agent with them."

The man grabbed Peter's shirt and abruptly pulled him into the office, violently closing the door. "Who?"

Peter knew a sound thrashing would come of his truth. But, would his boss know if he lied? It was highly likely, as his boss was like the Hood - he knew _everything_. His teeth chattered with fear. "L-L-L-"

"Spit it out!" The man yelled, directly in his face, tiny bits of saliva splattering his face in irony.

Peter covered his face with his arms. His voice was very small. "Alana Fitzgerald."

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Peter braved a glance at his rather deadly boss, James Reynold.

Having been supported by being held unto at the shirt, Peter fell flat on the floor when James let go.

James was perplexed, and confused. He walked towards the window, and stared out. He shook his head, and laughed. He turned back around to face the scrawny man who had just picked himself up. He laughed again. Peter nervously laughed back.

"Miss. Fitzgerald, eh?" he laughed. Still laughing, he smiled at Peter. "Normally, I would just have you kill her. Plain and out. But not Alana Fitzgerald. You will bring her to me, and _I_ will personally see to it that she gets what she deserves."

Peter's lip quivered. He prayed on his life that his boss would never know the deepest secret that he held. If he found out, Peter would surely be murdered, then hung out to dry. The best way to keep that secret would be to kill Alana Fitzgerald . . . but would he be able to do that?

"Yes, sir," he sat, standing tall and proud, much as a soldier going into battle for the woman he loved. But, like that solider, inside, his heart wept.

"Right . . . okay . . . thank you very much, sir." Lana hung up the cell phone.

Scott stood just a metre or so away, staring at her.

She took a guess at what he was thinking. "The owner says that they've just completed their security procedures. And, he's just gotten word from the others, and we've just finished positioning our troops. All we can do now is lay low, and wait."

Scott smiled at her. She had taken a guess at what he'd been thinking and was totally wrong. He brushed a piece of her hair back behind her ear. She blushed, and turned away from him, nervous. She had to try very hard to keep a tear from rolling down her cheek. She knew that she would have to end this when they wrapped the case up.

Scott walked closer towards her, and just stood, watching her for awhile. She couldn't quite meet his eyes.

Last time she'd mixed business with pleasure, she'd ended up an orphan with a pile of enemies. She didn't want to make that same mistake again. But she couldn't help it.

She'd fallen in love with Scott. She didn't put up a fight when he tried to kiss her. In fact, she held him close while he kissed her. Then and there, she decided that she'd do everything in her power to stay with him as long as possible.

Scott didn't remember ever being this happy. The last time he'd actually been happy . . . well, he didn't really remember it. Tess had broken his heart - well, okay, he'd broken hers, but it wasn't exactly an easy decision. And, of course, Tess rejecting him again several times didn't help. And seeing his ex get engaged to his _brother_ . . . well, you get the idea.

And, before Tess was more heartbreak. His mother. He tried never to go there, but it was incredibly difficult. His mother dying in an avalanche was terrible enough - knowing that you would have to help raise your younger siblings was worse.

Lana was a godsend. An angel. She meant a lot to him, more than she could ever know. Even if they'd only been together for a day now, he knew he loved her very much. He'd never felt so happy in his life, and he wanted to be with her forever.

His hand went up her back, and then her phone went off. She broke away, and he looked at her oddly. "That is one messed-up ring tone."

She smiled, checking the call display. "That'd be Kenny Chesney. Jeff don't let you listen to country?"

He shook his head, laughing. "Dad? Country? I believe what you have there is an oxymoron."

She raised her eyebrows at him, as she lifted the phone to her ear. "I wouldn't call your father a moron if I was you. Hey, Jeff, what's the 411?" She paused for a reply.

"Why are you putting her with us?" She seemed cautious. She turned to Scott, and smiled. She had to bite her tongue for a moment to keep from laughing. "Okay. I'll see if I can find 'er." She flipped the phone closed.

Scott smiled at her as she laughed very hard. "What?"

She straightened up, still laughing. "Your father wants you and I to grab Tessa and run down to Gamerson's to confront the enemy during battle. And, his reason for having Tessa separated from Virgil is because he doesn't want any 'love birds' to be together."

He smiled. "So he put us together?"

She pulled a somewhat serious face, but was still smiling. "Your father is as clueless as a pig in a hen house."

Scott put his hands on his hips, and laughed. "C'mon, we need Tess." They moved towards Thunderbird 2, still laughing. "It's funny because, other than Tess and Virgil, dad has _never_ figured out who likes who. Heck, he had no idea about me and Tess, and, well, we weren't exactly the best at covering our tracks . . . _all_ of the household knew."

Lana gave him a wondering look. "Seriously?"

"Yes. The man can't even tell when a women likes _him. _Mom used to tell some crazy stories about her and dad dating. And, well, Dad isn't exactly aware that Lady Penelope has a bit of a thing for him."

She laughed. "That man has had so many ladies on his tail . . . and he can't even tell when they like him. Boy, that would be confusing."

Scott smiled. "And you would know this how?"

She looked away.

It took him a minute. His face contorted. "Oh, man. Lana, dude, that is seriously gross . . . he's my dad!"

She shoved him playfully. "Shut up! The man was like an idol for me in University. And besides, it was a _long_ time ago, and he was with your mother."

Scott seemed to regain his composure for a moment. Then he let out a shiver.

Lana shook her head. She knocked on the side of Thunderbird 2. Virgil and Tess came out.

"Yes?" Tess asked.

"Tess, Jeff wants you to come with us, eh. Looks like we're supposed to catch this guy when he attacks, and so your dad wants you to come with us to Gamerson's HQ."

Tessa sighed. "Okay, if I must." He turned around, and kissed Virgil on the cheek. "Love ya."

She hopped out and began following. She really didn't want to leave Virgil, but she knew what a stickler Jeff was for business coming before pleasure. And, it helped that Scott wasn't allowed to drive Thunderbird One. _Still,_ she thought, glancing back at Virgil's Thunderbird, _it's going to make it awfully hard to concentrate._ She began to run through a series of tests to see if her headset was working, so she could get into contact with him at any given time.

She had "died" on him twice already, she didn't want to give him a third panic attack.

Lana tapped rapidly into the portable computer. The moment they had feared had come. Virg had given word just moments ago that an unexplained fire had started for no reason.

She looked up at the monitor, showing Tessa inside Gamerson's frantically searching for Peter Williams, pistol in hand (quite against her will).

Lana kept typing, having aced computer hacking. _Peter, Peter, where are you?_ She couldn't understand why there was nothing on where he was supposed to be. Nothing. She'd hacked into his personal computer, company records . . . everything.

Nothing. She couldn't believe it.

"This guy is super slick! And, down right disorganized. All this gibberish in his schedule, stuff that would only make sense to him. It's hopeless, Scott." She sunk back into the copilot seat of Thunderbird one.

Scott took his eyes off the monitor for only a minute. "Keep trying. It's not going to be picture perfect, but the answer _will _be there. I have a feeling. Tessa, try that hall on your left." He pressed the mouth piece of his head set closer to his lips. Tessa gave him the thumbs up from the screen.

Lana thought for a moment. Her eyes widened. _Picture perfect . . . _

She double-clicked on a small icon on his personal desktop. She was quite happy to be off the desktop actually (just because the blonde actress was from B. C. didn't mean she had to like her - in fact, she was quite repulsed by her). The file was password protected, giving her the first tip that she was onto something. Lana began to try various passwords. At first, nothing worked. She began to get frustrated again. She'd only tried a couple of times, but how was she supposed to know what it was? Out of nowhere, she typed in 'Spike' for her third try.

A file opened up, containing crudely labelled pictures, ranging from things like 'Newprocessingchip' to 'Christmas03' to 'Katiebikini'. She scrolled down to see if she could find anything of interest.

She found one icon that to her seemed to be calling. She tried to remind herself that curiosity killed the cat . . . but, then again, when was the last time she hocked up a hairball? She opened the file.

1RoomiesUoO.jpeg

Lana's eyes widened at the photo in front of her. Her mouth moved, but not a single audible sound came out. Could it be true?

She scrolled down. _Oh, no . . . _her mind raced. She clicked open another file.

Jimkeg.jpeg

Her lip quivered. She wasn't sure what to think. She scrolled down farther, praying she wouldn't find anything else. Praying it was all just a mistake. Praying that it was some coincidence.

She tried to be quiet - honestly, she did - but a gasp escaped from her mouth as she found the one file she'd hoped wouldn't be there.

Scott turned quick, "Lana, what is it? What's wrong!"

She turned the screen around to face him. Opened wide for him to see was a picture that she had hoped was not there.

At first confusion crossed his face. Then realization. Then jealousy.

Her voice was barely a whisper as she spoke. "That's him on the left, Scott. And, unfortunately, that's me on the right. The one kissing his cheek."

Scott couldn't believe this. This was almost exactly what he'd gone through with Tessa. Only this one seemed to make better reference to the phrase 'sleeping with the enemy' than 'like father, like daughter'.

"He changed his name. We went to University together. Me, him, and Jim were all best buddies. Only, me and Peter were a little more. He used to be Peter Penvellyn, but he must have changed that. None of this makes any sense . . . Peter would _never_ do anything like this."

Scott let out a snort of laughter. "My gosh, Lana. Can't you see the man has changed? He was probably always bad, and just never admitted it. It was probably all an act, and you fell for it."

She stared at him. "Peter Penvellyn was not only my boyfriend - for a short period of time - but also my best friend for my entire life, up until the point where I moved back to Saskatchewan. We went to school together, moved to Ottawa together, and joined CSIS together. We met Jim Reynold in University, and were like the three musketeers. We broke off though, when I moved back to Saskatchewan, and lost touch."

"Still, I don't trust him . . ." Scott was firm in all of his beliefs.

A flirtatious smile played on her lips. "Ooh, somebody's jealous . . ."

Scott decided not to lie. "Yes, actually, I am. You obviously still have feelings for the man. Heck, you probably picture him when you kiss me."

"Ew, Scott, I'm not gonna kiss you!" Tess's voice called to them, having come in at the wrong time.

Lana let out a snort of laughter as Scott blushed and tried to explain himself. "Sorry, er, Tess . . . we were having a private conversation about this guy."

Tess still prowled the halls with her gun in her hand, as though she wasn't paying attention. Her voice seemed taken aback though. "Well, Scott . . . whichever way you choose to live is your decision, but I would've appreciated the notice before we began dating."

Lana fell back against the seat with laughter. Scott was fumbling for words. "Well, I, just - _that is not what I meant!_"

Tess rounded another corner, then slunk against the wall. "Right, sure, whatever you want to call it, Scott . . . just make sure you inform Jeff ASAP, 'cause I don't wanna have to do it."

"Inform me of what?" Jeff's voice came over the line.

"Nothing!" Scott yelled.

Tess smiled. "You liar."

"What _is_ it?" Jeff persisted.

"Scott is um . . . swimming in the other pond." Tess chose her words carefully. Lana fell out of her seat with laughter.

"He's what!"

"I am not!"

"Well, okay, maybe I didn't explain it properly . . . he's more like . . . a flamingo in the land of men. An Elton John to one's Hugh Grant. A fruitcake to a chocolate one."

Lana tried to get up but she couldn't.

Jeff straightened up. "Scott, why was I not informed of this before?"

Scott burst out. "Because it's not true! It's a misunderstanding! And, besides, don't we have other things to worry about right now than which pond I swim in? Which, by the way, I'm swimming in the same pond as you are!"

"Fine, fine, we'll discuss this when you get home. Is there any new information?" Jeff asked.

Lana - having finally regained her composure - turned back to the monitor. "Actually, Jeff, I know the real - oh my gosh! TESSA!" She screamed at the computer.

Tess turned around just in time to find someone behind her. Tess was fast, but not fast enough. The man had her in a full nelson in a matter of moments. She tried to pull out of it, but the man knew her moves, and blocked her from dropping down with his knee.

Another man came from behind the first. Tessa was putting up a fight, kicking at both of her attackers, trying desperately not let them get her. The men hastily dodged the blows, though, and the second ripped off her headset, crushing it in his hand. It seemed as though Thunderbird One went completely silent. They saw the gun drop, and one of the goons picked it up. He held it to her head, and they watched, unable to do anything, as she was lead away from the range of the security cameras they'd hacked into.

She gave one final, longing look at the camera, trying to be brave.

"How could you let this happen!"

"For the last time, Virgil, it was not my fault!" Lana snapped, loading her own pistol.

Virgil could not believe it. He knew he should not of let his fiancée be led away to help the others. She should have stayed with him, gosh darn it! He adjusted his headset which he'd been yelling into for the past ten minutes. "I want to go with you."

She aimed the gun to make sure it was level. "No, Virgil, you stay put. There has already been one fire set, and I can't stand to think of how many more there would be if you were to leave right now. You can trust me and Scott. We'll get the job done."

He took a deep breath. "Don't let anything happen to her. I've spent my whole life looking for a girl like that, and I don't intend to spend anymore time looking for another."

She smiled, lowering the gun, and looking towards Scott. "Sure. I promise nothing will happen to her."

Scott smiled at her. "You ready?"

She tucked the gun in the side of her pants. "Never more ready in my entire life." She pressed the headset towards her mouth. "Jeff, we'll be leaving now. I've sent you the hacking codes for the security cameras, but I'm afraid we cannot take our headsets in with us. They'll give us away."

Jeff nodded from his end. "F. A. B. Good luck."

Scott and Lana simultaneously took their headsets off, and placed them on the "dashboard". They headed out the door, and began to run towards the building.

They came to a fence. Scott immediately jumped up, climbing over the top. He jumped down, and turned to find Lana already there. He gave her a questioning look.

She shrugged, pointing nonchalantly towards the wired gate behind her, not looking. "Small hole in the fence." She began to run towards the building.

He looked back, and noticed a gigantic rip in the fence that even he with his 6' 3" frame could easily fit through. He sighed, and turned back to follow her.

She was stuck at the door. A lock stood in front of her. "Dang it! This is why I should wear bobby pins!"

Scott reached into his jeans pocket - they had changed (separately) to look inconspicuous - and pulled out his wallet. He grabbed a credit card and slid it through the crack in the door. He snapped his wrist down, and the door opened to reveal a long hall. He extended his arm to escort her in.

She stared at him. He smiled. "Nancy Drew," was his only explanation. Her eyebrows shot up approvingly, and they began to sneak down the hallway, her gun in front of her.

"Down this hall. I have a feeling." She pointed them in the eastern direction. He followed.

She began leaning against doors, trying to hear in. She kept going from door to door, until she eventually found what she seemed to be looking for. "Hold this," she said, tossing him the gun.

She took a step back from the door, then kicked in down. She walked inside, Scott behind her, while effortlessly freeing her gun from his grip. She held it against her side, hiding it in a casual way. "Why, hello. Long time no see."

Peter turned around to see the tall, athletically built woman who'd haunted him for a long time. "Lana . . ." his voice was barely a whisper. His gaze stared at her, mesmerised by her. He quickly straightened up, and walked away from the desk. "What are you doing here? It's been ages!" He walked over, cheerily, extending his arms to hug her.

She held up her gun, which stopped him. "Where is she?"

The muscle just beside Peter's left eye contracted, a sign that he was nervous. "Who?"

Scott stepped up a bit behind her. It was more of a territorial gesture than a protective one."You know who, Williams."

Peter nervously backed up against the desk at this accusation. His voice quivered. He shook his head.

Her gun was pointed directly at him. Her eyes pleaded, on the verge of tears. "Why'd you do it? Why?"

Peter didn't know what to say. Playing dumb, he decided, was his only choice. "Do what?"

"For crying out loud!" Lana and Scott yelled at the same. Scott took over. "The fires, you idiot! Why are you burning down these buildings, killing innocent people, destroying lives!"

Peter couldn't take it. "I didn't do it! I mean, I did it, but I didn't _do_ it! It's not my fault! I was hired."

Lana turned to brave a look at Scott. She wasn't sure what to believe. "You were hired? By who, and why? Explain to me how this isn't your fault."

Peter stared at her. His eyes didn't show the same tender quality they used to when they were together. "Put the gun down, and I'll explain."

Lana just stood for a moment, judging her trust of him. "Why should I?" she finally spat.

He stared at her as though it was obvious. "Because you can trust me."

She was on the verge of tears. The verge of losing it. "How can I? Peter, no matter what, _you_ started these fires! You've _killed_ innocent people! You're not the person I once knew. Why would you do this!"

He snapped. "It was Jim, okay! Jim Reynold, who now goes by James. I may own Gamerson's Electric, but he owns my company . . . and me."

She lowered the gun slightly. Scott felt like the third wheel.

Peter sat on the edge of the desk, staring down. "After you left the service, James became suspicious that there was more than just friendship in our relationship. He was always a controlling friend, but a good one. _He_ was the one who was going to date you. He loved you. If he had've found out about us, I wouldn't likely be standing here.

"So, after you left, leaving CSIS and our 'affair', if you'll use the term loosely, I quit as well, wanting to cover my tracks. James and I lost touch, and I started my little business. Soon, I couldn't pay bills, because so many people were using the better known companies for their electricity. James found out, bought shares of my company, and lent me money. I've tried to pay him back, but he's a loan shark. What started out as 500 is now more like 50 000. I can't pay that. So, in his eyes, he 'owns' me." He stared into her eyes, now pleading for understanding.

Lana was stunned. She brought the gun down to her side.

Scott tried to keep the situation in tact. "Why didn't you tell the police?"

He looked directly at Scott. "James Reynold is the slipperiest man I've met. They would make me pay back every cent of the money he says I owe him, and then some. I can't afford that. By any means. He's forced me to change everything about my life: quit CSIS, change my name so no one could track me, hold in the secret of our relationship." He looked towards Lana.

Her eyes shot up, looking right at him. Her grip tightened on her gun. "Where is he? Where is James? Where did he take the girl?"

Peter pointed to a door on their right. "They went in there. He has been in there for the past couple of hours, and just a few minutes ago, a couple of hired thugs took someone in there. She wasn't moving. I think they put her under."

She motioned for Scott to stay where he was. Then Lana turned on her heel, and ran to the door. She flung it open, gun in hand. There was James, standing by his desk, watching where she had come in.

Sitting in the corner, flung over a chair like a wet blanket, was Tessa. Sure, enough, she wasn't moving, and was barely breathing. A stench hung in the air that Lana vaguely remembered from her days as an agent that she couldn't quite place.

James smiled. "Well, hello, Miss. Fitzgerald. How are we?"

"What have you done with her!" Lana yelled.

He looked casually to where she was staring, as though he hadn't noticed what was there. He shrugged. "Oh, well, see, she was struggling after being captured by my friends, and so they had to chloroform her."

Lana sighed in relief. Chloroform might give Tess a bit of a headache, but was not going to kill her. Lana's gun was steady in front of her. "Why have you killed all of these innocent people!"

"My dear Lana, haven't you heard of a little friendly competition? These companies were stealing potential customers from us. I _had_ to stop them."

"Most people would just hire a better advertising agency."

James smiled. "I'm not most people, Lana." He moved closer to her, so close in fact that she was forced to put her gun down. "I've only ever wanted the best." A sick grin spread across his face.

She stepped to the side. "Oh, really? So, you wanted me _so_ bad in University, and when we worked together, that you never gave me a single hint as to the fact that you like me?"

He smiled, watching her, moving towards her again. "Oh, Lana, I could never do something like that to a pretty thing like you. I know that something this complex could hurt your poor little brain." He brushed a hair from her cheek, with a look that was more seducing than quarrelsome.

She thought for a moment, hoping he wasn't saying what she thought he was. "Excuse me?"

He smiled, sadistically. "Why, Lana, I know women. I know that anything complex can confuse them."

Her eyes darkened. An equally sadistic smile crossed her lips though. His happiness increased, and he bent forward and kissed her.

"Traditional" women loved sewing. Rebellious women loved fast cars. Lana loved toying with men. She kissed him right back deeply. As his hand went up her back, a picture of Scott flashed across her head, and she kneed him where she knew he'd feel it. He pulled back in pain. He took a couple steps away from her.

She continued to smile sadistically. She walked towards him, placing one foot directly in front of the other like a model. "When are you going to learn," she began, stopping, "that Canadian girls kick butt?" She kicked him directly in the stomach. When he crouched against the ground, she kicked him repeatedly in the side, until he was flat on his back. She placed her foot on his chest in a gesture of victory.

He stared at her. "Bi-"

She wagged her finger. "Ah, ah. Enough with the language. We wouldn't want Lana's li'l brain to fry again, and get her angry now would we?" she asked in a voice a nanny would use on small children.

He sighed, and let his head drop against the floor. She looked around the office, and spotted some rope. "Scott! I need you!"

He was in there by the time she finished her sentence. "Grab that rope over there."

Scott turned, and jogged over to grab the rope. He handed it to her, and she used her foot to roll James on his back. She bent down, and tied his hands together tightly behind him. He tried to keep them less than a centimetre apart. "Oh, don't you dare pull that on me! I read the Hardy Boys too, Jim." He rolled his eyes, as she made sure the rope was so tight that if he _tried_ moving his hands, he'd hurt himself. She pulled him up.

Lana gestured with her head. "Grab Tessa, and haul her along behind me."

Scott nodded, and went to the corner of the room. He lifted Tessa with his arms, and watched her. "Lana . . . Lana? Lana!"

"What?" she turned from where she was at the door, where she was trying to convince Peter to go with them. She saw Scott's worried expression. "Oh, don't worry. She's just been chloroformed. She'll be fine in a few minutes."

Scott's eyes widened. "What?"

Lana rolled her eyes. "Chloroform. It's a substance used to put people under."

Scott's breathing started getting choppy, and he looked over at Tess's face. "Oh, no . . ." He heaved her up a bit more, making sure he had her securely, then took off in a blind sprint for Thunderbird One.

"Scott! What are you doing!" she yelled at him. There was no answer. She turned to the two criminals. "C'mon! Peter, you get right beside me." She held the gun up. He got right by her side, and she dragged James and him in a fast run to catch up with Scott.

But, when she got outside, the police were there, detaining her, asking questions. Scott was nowhere to be found.

After about a half an hour of questions, the police left her. She's been lucky enough to have kept her IR pin and badge with her, so they left her mostly alone.

She ran to where Thunderbird One was last. It was, luckily, still there, but with an ambulance next to it. She gasped, and broke off in a run.

Scott carried Tess out of the craft. Her breathing was shallow as Lana watched him hand her over to the paramedic.

"What's going on?" Lana asked Scott, through scared tears.

Scott looked at Lana as if he'd been through the worst day of his life. "Tessa is highly allergic to chloroform. It shuts down her breathing gradually, until she can't breathe at all."

Lana brought her hand to her mouth, feeling guilty for not helping her. Scott saw her pain, and pulled her close. "It's going to be okay. The doctors say she'll be fine in a few days. She woke up just a few minutes ago, and now they're giving her some medication to help her breathe. After that, she'll come home with us, and rest for awhile, until she's better."

Lana began to cry. "I didn't do anything. I just let her lye in that chair, like she was already dead. I didn't help her, I was just occupied with getting James."

He smiled at her. "And you got James because of it. Now people will be able to go back to work, and turn on their electricity without fear because of you. You should be proud of that. And you didn't know about her allergies. There was nothing you could have done."

Lana still didn't feel any better. "Yeah, but if she had died, Scott, I would have never forgiven myself. As it is, I don't know if I'll be able to."

Virgil closed the door behind him. He was the only one she'd let in to see her. The entire entourage of people staying at Tracy Island - including Tin-tin, Kyrano, and Brains, who'd finally gotten back just a day after the capture of James - were waiting for him. He looked at them, a small smile tugging at the side of his mouth. "She's a lot better. But she'd still like to be left alone." The entire family let go of their breathe.

Virgil walked away, purposely walking towards the opposite direction from where Lana was. Even though she was standing in the direction of his room, he really didn't want to talk to her.

Lana felt hurt. What could she say to make him forgive her? What could she do? She hadn't known anything about the allergy, she reminded herself, but she understood his feelings.

The Tracy group broke off. Scott walked outside, leaving Lana by herself. They'd agreed to keep things on the down low for now at least. She turned to go out the other door, meeting him outside on the beach.

After a few silent moments to himself, Scott saw Lana coming over the hill. He met her halfway, and pulled her into an understanding embrace.

When Lana pulled away. She smiled in gratefulness for this wonderful man she felt she didn't deserve by any stretch. He held her waist as they walked along the beach.

She broke the silence. "So, when did you find out about it?"

He looked up, remembering. "Gordon was in a small accident, but injured his foot real bad a couple months back. Dad called a doctor. As soon as the doctor said it was OK, Tess rushed inside to comfort him. The stench was still in the air." He laughed, though he knew he shouldn't. "As I recall, she rushed right in there, then immediately passed out on the bed. That's when she told us."

Lana smiled, knowing now that this wasn't something everyone had known about forever. She looked up at him. "Why won't she let anyone see her?"

He shrugged. "She prefers to be left alone for a couple days after one of her allergies takes effect. But, you know, she loves Virgil like I love you, so she's bound to let him in."

Lana froze. She still walked, but that was about all. Her breathing was a wisp, if that. _What did he just say?_ she asked herself. Her jaw quivered. "W-what did you just say?"

He stared at her. "About what?"

She swallowed, trying to repeat what he said. "Did you just say that you love me?"

He seemed taken aback for a moment. He relaxed though as he answered. "Yes. Yes, I suppose I did." He smiled at her, but when he saw how nervous she was, he questioned her. "Why? Don't . . . don't you feel the same?"

Lana thought for a moment. "Yes. I think. I mean, no . . . wait, yes. Yes, I do." She stared up at him, trying to make words form. "It's just . . . it hasn't even been a week since we . . . _decided_ this."

Scott stopped for a moment, facing the ocean. "I know. It's so sudden. But I do know that I love you, Lana."

She smiled. She loved him, she truly did. But was this the right time? She looked away. "Well, I doubt your brother even tolerates me now."

Scott laughed slightly, sitting down in the sand. She followed him. "Yeah, Virgil does tend to hold a grudge. But I wouldn't worry about it," he said, leaning back in the sand, "it'll all clear up in a month or so."

She leaned back too. "Wow. He can still hold a grudge against someone who's left. That's impressive." She laughed.

It was Scott's turn to be confused. He rolled on his side, leaning over her partially. "Wait, what? You won't be here?"

She sat up, about 6 inches between them. She seemed slightly shocked. "Of course, Scott. I can't stay here. I have to go home. To Canada."

Scott's expression took a nosedive. "But . . . why?" he squeaked out, hurt.

Lana looked at him in an obvious expression. "I have a farm to run, Scott. I have to be there. My family is counting on me."

He stared at her. "But _I'm_ counting on you, Lana."

"You knew when I got here I couldn't stay forever."

He leaned farther away. "But that was before _us_." He looked away.

She turned to face him. "I never planned to fall in love while I was here. But I did. If I had a choice, you know I'd stay with you. But I can't. I made a commitment. I'm needed over seas . I can no more stay here than you can come with me."

He looked away. He felt like his heart had been ripped out, and thrown against the jagged rocks on the other side of the beach, bleeding down into the ocean water. "When are you leaving?" was all he could ask.

"3 days."

_3 days? _3 days!he thought. "Is that all we have together?"

She nodded, biting her lip.

His hurt was making its way to his eyes. "What about _us_? What happens next?"

She shook her head. "I wish I knew. We can't write; we might be able to email; we may be able to visit and call." She looked towards him, never wanting to lose what she saw. "Maybe one day, you could come over, and never leave."

He turned away. He knew the answer, he just didn't want it. "I can't do that. I don't belong in your world. Just like you don't feel you belong in mine." His eyes were stinging.

Tears welded up in hers. "No . . . no, I don't want that. I know what you're thinking and no."

He turned around to her. "What choice do we have?"

She stood up. Tears of anger and sorrow fell from her eyes. "I don't want to lose you!"

He stood up. "There's no other way!"

"There has to be!"

"I don't see one! If you find a decent one, you let me know!"

She began sobbing, running back towards the house. He ran after her. "Lana! Lana, wait! We have 3 days!"

She turned back around. Her voice was bitter. "No, Scott. If you want it to be over, why don't we just do it now! Save the pain of doing it later! C'mon, be a man about this. It's over, isn't it!"

He looked down, holding back tears of his own. He nodded.

She cupped her hand over her mouth, and sobbed hard. She turned and ran back towards the house. He couldn't blame her.

"This is all your fault!"

"You had a part in this too!"

"I'm not the one being a pain in the a-"

"Yeah, well, you're being a little bi-"

"I wouldn't talk, jerk!"

"If you come up with a solution I would _love_ to hear it!"

Tess could hear the sobs of Lana start up again. She was laying on the couch, leaning against Virgil. It was the day after the break-up, although everyone not involved just assumed it was another stupid fight. The family tried to ignore it, but they could hear through the walls.

"Look, I didn't mean it."

"Sure you did! You keep telling me over and over again what an idiot I'm being about all this!"

"I said no such thing!"

Virgil rolled his eyes. Ever since Lana had come running inside in a torrent of tears yesterday, with no explanation, it had been non-stop fighting. They were like two alley cats. _Why can't they just get along?_ He believed that it was probably just a stupid argument over who left the seat up, or it at least probably started that way and escalated.

"You liar! Everything you've ever said to me is a lie, and you know it!"

"No, I meant a lot of things I said, you're the liar, Lana!"

Jeff sighed. His thoughts went something like this: _two more days, two more days, two more days . . . _

"Just leave me alone!"

"I wish that's how you really felt, Lana! That would make things so much easier!"

Alan and Tin-tin exchanged looks over the chess board. The insides of their minds were trying to guess what they were fighting about.

Lana erupted in sobs again. "Why do you keep saying that? Why can't you just drop it!"

Scott wiped her tears. She slapped his hand away. "Because I want you to understand."

She stared at him. "I understand. I understand _perfectly_. I understand how it was all a bunch of lies when you said you loved me!"

The foyer went silent - even more so than before. All the heads turned towards the sound. Each person believed that their hearing had failed them. They all awaited the next scream to make sure it was true.

Scott looked her dead in the eye. "That was no lie, and you know it. I _do_ love you, Lana. I wish you'd understand that."

She cried again. "Then why is this happening?"

Scott shook his head. "I don't know. If I knew, I'd find a way to stop it, I swear. But there's nothing."

There was complete silence everywhere for a moment. Then Lana spoke up. "Go. Please, just . . . I need some time alone."

The door opened and closed. Soon Scott appeared in the foyer, unaware that his private life has just been uncovered.

"That's the last bag," Lana sighed, handing Jeff a large duffle. "I guess I'm good to go."

Jeff heaved the bag up into the private jet. Today was the day she left. She found out that Jim was facing murder charges, arson charges, and a couple others. Peter was being charged as an accessory, which she felt he deserved. She knew now that whatever friendship they'd had was gone.

Jeff walked back down the plane's stairway. He gave Lana a final parting hug. She smiled. "G'bye Jeff."

He wished her good luck on her flight as she broke away. Lana turned to face everyone, as if this was the last time she'd ever see them. "Thank you all for having me. I'll miss y'all, eh. Some more than others, but I'll miss ya." She said it jokingly, but she looked deeply at Scott when she said it. "If I ever get the chance to go on another mission with you, I will be overly blessed." She smiled at the family, and turned. She walked up the stairs, a chorus of "Goodbyes" reining behind her.

Jeff nudged Scott as he waved. "Go with her."

Scott turned to his father, also waving. "What?"

Jeff smiled. "You'll regret it if you don't."

Scott looked at the plane. At her. Lana was at the top of the stairs. She turned back around, and gave one final wave before disappearing into the plane.

In his mind, Scott saw the door closing, and Lana flying away, leaving him behind, never seeing her again.

Through his eyes, he saw himself running up those stairs after her.

Jeff couldn't have been more proud of his son.

Scott closed the door behind him. Lana turned away from the window. "Scott - what!"

He smiled. "Thought you could use an escort."

The plane began to take off as they sat down across from each other. When they were a fair ways away, he began. "Look, I know I've been rotten. I shouldn't have ended things the way I did. I love you. More than you could know."

She turned away. "Let's not go there again, Scott. It's all we've been talking - or rather arguing about for the past 3 days."

He smiled. "I know. And I want to call a truce. I want to be friends. Pen pals. Anything. I know I can't leave you hanging, waiting, and I know I can't set you completely free either."

She smiled at him. It was fake, though. "Friends. Sure. I'll email you when I get home in Canada."

He pretended to buy the smile. "Fine, okay, sure."

Scott walked with her, Kyrano following behind them. They made small talk as they searched for her gate at London airport. They listened to the crappy music the airport deejay played - _really_ bad country.

Lana took a seat near her gate. Scott sat down next to her. Kyrano hovered a few metres away, out of earshot.

Scott looked at her. "So, what are you going to do when you get to Canada?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, I'll get picked up by my cousin, and we'll drive around to a restaurant, and have dinner. She'll want to know how my mission went, I'll want to know how the farm is."

Scott smiled, intrigued. He thought before asking. "What will you tell her?"

She thought, knowing what he was trying to uncover. "That the mission was a success, and that we found out who was behind it, and they are facing charges."

Scott's mouth tugged at a small smile. It wasn't of happiness, more like sadness. "Will you say anything about us?"

Lana sighed. "I don't know. My cousin will probably figure it out. I'll probably tell her that I found someone that I thought I loved, but we realized it would never work."

He nodded in understanding, and they were both uneasily silent for the next couple of minutes.

"Now boarding: flight 406 to Saskatchewan at Gate 7. Now boarding: flight 406 to Saskatchewan at Gate 7," a monotone female voice said over the PA.

Scott and Lana both got up. She grabbed her carry-on bag. "That's me," she sighed.

He nodded, walking her to the gate, hands in his pockets. "Well, I'll email you sometime."

"Sure. I'll call," she nodded, trying to smile, trying to meet his eyes.

He looked at her. "Goodbye, Alana."

She extended her hand. He shook it. "Goodbye, Mr. Tracy." She smiled, and turned away.

Scott watched as the one women he'd truly loved walked through the gate, disappearing. He listened to the pathetic music over the system, which had just turned to Whitney Houston.

He wanted to turn and walk away, but something forced his feet to stay planted.

His face lit up. She ran out of the gate, straight towards him. The stewardess tried to stop her, without any success at all. Lana plowed right through her. She leapt into Scott's arms, kissing him hard. He returned the gesture, holding her close; kissing her hard. The stupid song played it's famous lyric during this very moment.

"And I will always love you . . ."

She held him, kissing him. "I can't leave you. I love you. I'll visit every month," she whispered, smelling deeply his cologne.

He was equally emotional. "I'll visit you once a month."

"I'll write everyday."

"I'll call."

She drew back. "I'm not letting you go."

He smiled. "You don't have to. It won't be over. Ever. I promise."

She cried as she kissed him one more time. She pulled away, holding his hand for the longest time possible before finally letting go. She turned and walked through the gate.

Scott watched for a moment, and then turned around. He walked where Kyrano stood. "Let's go." Kyrano turned, proud of the man who wasn't even his son.

Scott came out of his room, satisfied at the vast amount of emails he'd sent, all saying "I love you," at least three times. Lana would be home by then, and he didn't want her to think he'd forgotten anything.

He walked into the foyer, where everyone was gathered. His smile could have lit up Broadway. He had been on his toes for the past couple of days, since Lana's departure, and no one had questioned his motives. In fact, they were surprisingly quiet, but he didn't notice. If he had, he would've likely had a talk with Kyrano.

He looked around the room, at his family. His smile was so broad. They wore nothing even remotely cheery on their faces. In fact, Tess was cuddled against Virgil, looking like she'd been crying a lot. Tin-tin was the same, in Alan's arms.

Scott turned to them all. "Oh, c'mon. Turn those frowns upside down people! It's a beautiful day out there."

Jeff couldn't bare to look at his son.

Scott's smile faded a little. "What? What's wrong?" his voice became urgent, he looked to John's picture in worry.

Jeff swallowed. Part of him wanted to hand Scott the notice, and have him read it himself. But inside, he knew he'd have to tell his son himself. Jeff stood up, walking over to Scott. "Sit down, son."

Now Scott was really scared. His father never told him to sit down unless it was deadly serious.

Scott's chin quivered, afraid of what was to come. "I'll stand."

Jeff couldn't meet his eyes. Scott wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a tear streak Jeff's normally tough face.

Jeff took a deep breathe. "There was nothing we could do, Scott. You have to remember that. You can't save everyone, even if it is someone that you would trade your life for," he said, as if Scott already knew.

Scott looked around the room for an explanation. No one could look at him. Then realization dawned on him. "No . . . no, you don't . . . she's not . . ."

Jeff closed his eyes. "Her plane was shot down just a few hours into flight by a bunch of people getting even for her putting James away. The plane rests at the bottom of the Atlantic now. There were no survivors."

Scott stopped breathing. His words failed him. A torrent of emotions swept over him.

No one could imagine the pain Scott was going through. His world had been turned upside down in seconds. He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach, and the turned his insides outward.

Scott did the only thing he could.

He turned, and ran outside.

Some people say that the pain gets easier everyday. For Scott, he felt that the pain intensified everyday. He'd wake up, and know that she'd never be beside him one day. He'd get up, and look outside, knowing there was no point in booking a flight to Canada. He'd look into the ocean, and understand that she wasn't going to visit him.

Some people would look to the skies, and say they felt better, because they knew the person they loved was watching them.

But for some reason, Scott didn't believe she was looking down on him.

Sure, he believed in heaven. Of course, he believed there was a divine, larger force, and that angels were watching. But Lana wasn't there for some reason.

Nothing seemed to cheer him up. Not the news that the attackers had be caught, and were being charged with murder. Not the thought that he would see her in heaven. Nothing.

There was no way he could feel any better. He'd lost his soul mate, or the one he believed to be his soul mate.

He couldn't think of what to do to set his mind at ease. He walked into Kyrano's garden, and plucked a single rose from his garden.

He walked down to the ocean again, facing the direction of Canada.

He kissed the rose. "Goodbye, Lana," he whispered softly. He tossed the rose gently into the ocean, watching it float away to where she rest.

"Okay, Jane, come on. Do you know what that is?" the doctor asked his patient, who was finally outside of the hospital for the first time in weeks.

She smiled. "Water . . . the ocean! I remember, Greg, I remember!"

The doctor smiled, nodding. "Do you know which ocean it is, Jane?"

She closed her eyes, trying hard to think. "Don't stress yourself, Jane. You don't want to hurt yourself," Dr. Greg Peterson reminded her.

She opened her eyes. "The Atlantic . . . right?"

He smiled, nodding. "Right. Very good. Do you remember where we are?"

She thought for a second, but not as hard as before. "Newfoundland . . . right?"

"That's right. You're getting better everyday, Jane."

She shrugged. "I practise."

They began walking along the coast again. "How do you do that?" he asked. He found all this very rewarding.

She held her bare arms. "I play a game to help me sleep. I look at something, maybe a curtain, or a colour, and try to picture someplace I've seen it before. Most of the time, nothing happens, and I fall asleep, but sometimes, something will come."

He smiled. "Interesting. What have you remembered from this?"

She smiled. "My mother. Or, at least, some woman. I don't think she was my real mother, but I remember imagining myself being her daughter, or being her. She was with a man, too. Someone I thought I should know . . ."

Greg knit his brow. "What did he look like?"

She closed her eyes, remembering. "Tall . . . dark hair, slightly grayed, just slightly. Kind, but firm."

"What was his name?"

She thought, closing her eyes. She held her temples abruptly, crouching over. "I can't remember!" she screamed. "I don't remember, Greg!"

He held her. "Sh, calm down, Jane. We don't want you to get overwhelmed. Just relax. This is your first time outside in awhile."

She nodding, breathing deeply to calm herself. She turned back to face the ocean. "Hey, what's that?"

He looked, as she squatted to pick up what she'd spotted. He thought it was probably just a rock. But when she stood back up, he was just as perplexed as she was.

"A rose?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, but what was it doing in the water?"

No one will ever know how the smell stayed. She sniffed the rose, closing her eyes, remembering how Greg had brought some flowers in for her to smell in hopes of bringing back memories.

She inhaled deeply, and suddenly a torrent came back. Her eyes burst open again. "Scott . . ." she whispered.

Greg stared at her. "What?"

She smiled. "Scott . . ." she said again, only slightly louder, loving the sound of the name on her lips.

Greg was amazed at her. "Who's that?"

Her smile broadened, but her eyes remained focussed on the ocean. "I don't know, Greg, but I have a feeling he's someone special . . ." She smelt the rose again, enjoying the many scents that danced on its petals.

A kiss is a beautiful thing: to give someone; to leave behind; to watch; to receive. It opens doors, and closes them at the same time. It is truthful, and never out of anger. There is no evil in a kiss. A kiss is a powerful thing.


End file.
